Not Your Hero
by FrankieG613
Summary: Nicole is a detective, and Waverly is a PhD student just minding her own business, when their paths cross thanks to a murderer. Detective Haught has been chasing this guy for months and when they finally corner him, he grabs an innocent bystander for protection. Instead of freaking out though, the bystander (Waverly) just gets annoyed, and accidentally saves the day
1. Chapter 1

Detective Nicole Haught had been investigating a string of suspicious murders for months when she finally caught a break. One of her confidential informants had told her about a "creeper" that had been hanging around the latest murder scene a few hours before the body had been discovered, and thanks to good police work and weirdly good luck, Nicole had a name and a location to track down her suspect.

So here she was, with her partner and a few plain clothes officers waiting to catch sight of her suspect. What she was not expecting was the crowd; for 3 o'clock on a Tuesday, the shopping center where the suspect worked was inordinately busy. She finally got eyes on the suspect walking out of the building, a dude who went by the name Carl, and alerted her team, who started following him.

Nicole felt the hair on the back of her neck rise as they followed Carl outside. She couldn't help but think there were too many people around, and she knew they had been made when he started walking faster. The plain clothes officers picked up their pace, trying to cut Carl off to keep him from getting to the parking lot, as Nicole pulled her weapon and shouted his name.

Carl paused, looking back over his shoulder, and people started panicking at the sight of a gun. The other officers also drew their weapons and time slowed as Nicole watched Carl snarl at her and then grab a nearby woman, who had been too engrossed in her book to pay attention to her surroundings. Carl grabbed the girl, holding her in front of himself, and pulled a knife, showing Nicole the dangerous blade before putting it to the bystander's neck.

Getting a better grip on her gun, Nicole moved her eyes from the blade to the girl who looked… super annoyed. Where Nicole expected to find panic and terror, she only saw indignation and anger, which Nicole found very surprising considering the girl had to be 5"4' at best, and looked about as tough as a unicorn, albeit a pretty cute one.

Before Nicole could speak to try and diffuse the situation, the girl (who was now effectively a hostage), crossed her arms over her chest and started… whining.

"Ok, is this really necessary? I am having the worst day, no week, I am having the worst week you could possibly imagine, and you have to come out of nowhere, when I was getting to the BEST part of the book, and grab me. Have you ever heard of consent? Because I definitely do not consent to being your human body shield as this police person aims their gun at me."

Considering the situation, Nicole should not have found this girl remotely charming or adorable, but she found herself enthralled. "Detective."

The girl puppishly tilted her head at Nicole. "What?"

"Detective. I'm a detective. You said police person, and I'm…" Nicole scolded herself, reminding herself that a person was being held at knife point. "That's not important. What is important is that you're being held by a guy named Carl, who I am trying to arrest under suspicion of murder."

"Well, can you hurry up with the arresting bit? Because I WAS at a really good part in my book and this guy's breath smells terrible."

Nicole's lips quirked up in a smile before Carl reminded her of his presence, tightening his arm around the girl's neck and growling.

"Both of you shut up, right now."

Refocusing on the situation at hand, Nicole grimaced and took stock of her surroundings. Her guys were in place, she knew they had the upper hand, but she couldn't allow a citizen to get hurt.

"Ok, Carl. Look, you don't have to do this. That girl you're holding is innocent and you and I both know-"

As Nicole spoke, trying to ease some of the tension, going into Hostage Negotiation 101, she watched the girl look down, find Carl's foot, pick up her own and stomp down as hard as she could, catching everyone off guard. Carl jerked, pulling the girl back, which only caused her to lose her balance since she was still on one foot. Trying to maintain his balance, Carl over-corrected and they both went tumbling down in a heap of limbs and curse words.

Nicole and the officers rushed up to them, guns drawn and ready, expecting to find the worst, when the girl squirmed away from Carl, holding the knife. Nicole's partner, Xavier Dolls, pointed his gun at the girl and yelled at her to drop the knife, which she did with a squeak.

A literal squeak, was all Nicole could think with a shake of her head as the officer's slapped cuffs on Carl, and Dolls took charge of the knife, before Nicole approached the girl who was sitting on the ground rubbing her elbow.

"Are you ok, miss?"

"Ugh, I guess. I scraped my elbow and," the girl shifted, reaching under her, "my pants are torn, but I guess all things considered, I'm ok."

Nicole nodded and reached out a hand to help her up. "Good, I'm glad. Also, do you have ANY idea how stupid that was?"

"Excuse me? Listen Detective person-"

"Haught."

"What did you call me?"

"No, my name. It's Haught. I'm Detective Nicole Haught." Nicole held out her hand, trying to maintain her professionalism and not act like a flustered doofus.

"Oh, that's an interesting name."

There was an awkward pause, both women shuffling a little as they stood there before Dolls came up to them.

"Hey, Carl's on his way back to the precinct. Are we good here?"

Nicole nodded. "Yes, I was just talking to Miss…"

"Earp. Waverly Earp."

"Yeah, Miss Earp and I were just talking, just making sure she's ok. Um, but yes, Miss Earp, I need to come down to the station so I can get your statement."

Waverly groaned and walked over to where her book had fallen when she got grabbed. Nicole gave a brief smile and nod to Dolls who flashed her his teeth before walking over to the other officers working crowd control. Nicole took a minute to get her bearings, struggling to believe that the whole situation had gone down in only a few minutes, before shuffling after Waverly who was gathering her things and throwing them into an oversized bag, cursing under her breath the whole time.

Nicole cleared her throat. "So, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I know you want to get back to your book, but I do need to get your statement. I would appreciate if you would come down the station, and I'd like to check you out, too."

Waverly raised her brow as Nicole turned bright red, and started stammering.

"I mean, get you checked out. By a doctor. Because of the knife. And the falling. You fell. You might have… hurt yourself."

Waverly huffed out a laugh and stood, moving to stand in front of Nicole. "It is inconvenient, highly, but I will come give you a statement, and let you check me out." Waverly brushed past Nicole and walked to where Dolls was standing by an unmarked cruiser.

Nicole turned after her and smiled the whole way back to the car.

If Nicole hadn't been so focused on the girl next to her as they entered the station, she would have noticed the whole bullpen stopping to watch them as they walked in. Not only had the precinct heard about the situation from the other officers on the scene, the way the two women interacted caught everyone's attention. Everyone stopped to catch a glimpse of the girl who helped capture a murderer, but were amazed with how at ease the two women were with each other.

Nicole and Waverly had engaged in a lively discussion about guns and the merits of sawing off your shot gun (no matter the legality) in order to protect oneself. They were so engaged in their conversation Nicole was almost surprised to find herself at her desk, Waverly beside her and telling her about growing up on a homestead and why guns are the best form of personal security.

Dolls cleared his throat from behind them during one of Waverly's pauses, and they both turned to see Dolls and an older gentleman standing there.

"Oh, Waverly, this is Captain Nedley, my boss. Captain, this is Waverly. Earp. Waverly Earp. Miss Earp was on the scene today-"

Nedley stuck out a hand, effectively stopping Nicole's rambling. "Miss Earp, it's nice to meet you. I hear you were quite the hero today."

Waverly shook her head as she returned the handshake. "Oh, gosh no. I just really didn't want to be a hostage this afternoon. Places to be, people to see, you know how it is."

"Well, nevertheless, I appreciate you taking care of business, and keeping my officers safe."

Nicole, finally able to tear her eyes away from Waverly, looked at Nedley who pinned her with a glare. "Yes, it was very heroic. But also stupid. So. Yeah. Let me get your statement, and then I really do want someone to look at our elbow, it looks painful."

Nedley gestured behind him as Waverly nodded. "Use my office. I'm going to run out and grab some dinner at Shorty's. Dolls, care to join?"

The two men walked out of the bullpen as Nicole led Waverly to Nedley's office and had her sit down on the couch. She took Waverly's statement about sitting there, taking a break from studying and reading a book, (the seventh Harry Potter book, reading it for about the dozenth time, it's still so good!) when she heard shouting. She meant to look up and see what was going on, but she was just getting to the part about breaking out of Gringott's on the dragon, and then suddenly she was being grabbed, and well, Nicole knew the rest.

Nicole learned that Waverly was a PhD student studying the wild west and the evolution of law enforcement in North America. She listened to Waverly talk about her research, completely captivated by her passion and enthusiasm, and before she knew it the shadows were growing long and Nedley was returning from dinner.

"Ladies, everything alright?"

Nicole jumped up, embarrassed at losing track of the time. "Yep, yes, sir. We were just finishing up."

Waverly stood as well, nodding at Nedley as they exited his office.

Nicole paused for a moment, and then turned back to Waverly, knowing Nedley was watching. "Ok, well, thanks for your statement, and sorry for taking up so much of your time."

Waverly nodded, checking her phone. "Wow, I didn't realize how much time had passed. I need to get going."

"Yeah, um, are you feeling alright? I never did have anyone check you out. Over! Check you over." Nicole shook her head and mumbled, "dammit."

Waverly laughed and nodded. "I'm fine. Did you need anything else?"

"No, but you should be prepared to get a phone call about testifying. The prosecution will want to speak with you."

"Ok. Will you be there when I meet with them?"

Nicole tried not to read too much into the question, but couldn't quite keep the smile off her face. "Um, no, but if you have any questions, here's my card."

Nicole handed over a well-worn business card, which Waverly took with a small smile.

"Ok, well I really do have to get going. Um, thanks for… your help."

"I didn't do anything. You were the-"

"Don't say hero! I'm just, I'm going to go. Thank you, Detective."

"You're welcome, Miss Earp. Get home safe."

Waverly gave a small salute and Nicole watched as she walked out.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been exactly seven days since the "being taken hostage" incident and Waverly found herself at the bank. She was waiting in line to deposit her tips from the night before when there was a loud noise behind her. If she hadn't been up until 3 o'clock in the morning the night before and was a little more alert, she would have realized that the loud noise was a gunshot as a masked man entered the bank.

As those in line with her startled, screamed, and dropped to the floor, Waverly groaned, took off her sunglasses, and slowly put her bag down before lowering to the floor herself. The woman beside her looked terrified, and all Waverly could think is that she did not have the energy for this baloney.

Luckily, the card Detective Haught had given her the week before was burning a hole in her pocket, where it had been since she got it, and she shifted to lay on her stomach while pulling out the card and her phone as subtly as possible.

While the masked douchebag was demanding cash from the wherever, Waverly dialed Detective Haught's cell number, all while muttering, "amateur hour," at the robber not paying her any attention.

She cursed under her breath when she got Nicole's voicemail, but put the phone on speaker and left a message of the robber screaming at the bankers.

Meanwhile, Detective Haught was already in route to the bank after one of the tellers tripped the silent alarm. The bank in question was one of the biggest ones in Toronto, and the silent alarm meant all hands on deck.

Looking at her phone, she saw an unknown number calling and ignored it in favor of speeding through the streets safely.

Once she got to the bank, Nicole saw tactical and SWAT getting situated around the bank. Her and Dolls were late to the scene, apparently, and she joined other officers as the head of Hostage Negotiation briefed them all. She listened to the brief, and finding she didn't have anything to, checked her phone and saw that the unknown number had left a message. She listened to it as she looked around the scene and felt cold panic as she listened to the robber yelling. The message lasted for a few minutes and right before it clicked off she heard the unmistakable annoyed drawl she had first heard a week ago, whispering, "Oh my god dude, get the money and get out, bank robbing 101, dang."

Nicole whipped around and ran back to where the scene commander was. Handing off her phone, she made the lady, an agent by the name of Lucado who had a reputation for being an enormous (but effective) bitch, listen to the last few seconds of the voicemail. Lucado jumped into action, prompting Nicole to call Waverly back.

Nicole waited, holding her breath, until she heard the line connect. She didn't say anything, waiting for some indication that it was safe to talk. She heard breathing, and listened very closely as she heard, "there's one guy, he has one gun, pshhh amateur, and he is freaking out. We know the cops are here… and there are ten hostages."

Nicole muted her phone and relayed the information to Lucado who dispatched officers, and started formulating a plan. Nicole signaled those around her to be quiet, and unmuted her phone.

"Are you ok?"

She heard a quiet snort and a pause, before Waverly responded, "It's just a normal Tuesday, isn't it."

Nicole laughed gently, finding herself charmed once again at an inappropriate time by this girl. "Try to stay on the line. Help is on the way. Don't be a hero."

She heard another snort, "That, I can promise."

Nicole stayed on the line, listening for any action while cops set up and prepared to enter the bank. They were almost set to enter when multiple gunshots rang out from inside the bank. Nicole felt her heart stop as frantic movement began around her, those in tactical gear running into the bank. She waited until the call came that it was safe to enter before she ran up to the building.

She was almost to the doors when she saw Waverly helping another woman out of the bank. Both her and the woman looked fine, just a little shaken up, and Nicole breathed a little easier at the sight as she made her way over to them.

She was yelling before she fully got to them, "Are you ok? What the hell happened? What are you even doing here?"

Waverly ignored her and walked the woman over to a paramedic, who swiftly took over, before turning to Nicole and snapping, "I am fine, some shit-ticket decided rob this bank, and I was here to deposit my tips from last night. Is that ok, Detective?"

Nicole struggled to form a response as Waverly turned and stormed away. She hurried after her as officers and other hostages continued coming out of the bank.

"Wait, Waverly, come back. I'm sorry for freaking out, it's just… how does this keep happening to you?!"

Waverly turned on her heal, making Nicole stop short. "I DON'T KNOW how this keeps happening. Trust me, spending yet another Tuesday as a hostage was not on my to-do list today! I-"

Waverly gets cut off as a lady stumbles out of the bank and right to her, wrapping her up in a hug. Nicole feels a little jealous as she watches Waverly return the gesture, but tamps it down as the woman releases Waverly and turns to her.

"Are you a cop?"

Nicole nods. "Yes, ma'am. Are you alright?"

The woman nods, "I am, thanks to this lady. She was such a hero-"

The woman is cut off by a load groan from Waverly. "I didn't do anything. Honestly. No heroics here, I just-"

"No! Officer, honestly, she was SUCH a hero. She was so calm and when the robber guy started freaking out, she really took control of the-"

Waverly grabs the lady's shoulders and turns her away from Nicole, who is starting to look far too smug for Waverly's comfort. "Ok, yes, I talked to the dude. That's great. Hey, look, go talk to that officer over there and let him check you out. Over! He's going to check you over to make sure you're ok. Detective Haught is going to take my statement now, and we wouldn't want there to be any suspicion we practiced our story."

The woman started walking away but not before muttering, "Detective Hot could check me out if she wanted."

Nicole blushed as Waverly fought to pretend she hadn't heard. They smiled awkwardly at one another for a moment before Nicole gently asked, "Are you really ok?"

Waverly nodded. "Yep, no scrapes or potential stab wounds this time. And I really didn't do anything, that lady is just… in shock."

Nicole shook her head at Waverly. "You know, for some reason I have a hard time believing that, Miss Earp."

For the second Tuesday in row, Waverly begrudgingly and crankily found herself on Nedley's couch talking to Nicole about her day. She tried to listen as Nicole read her statement back to her, (she was there to drop off her tips from the night before, she works at Shorty's at night to help pay for rent, no she doesn't make that much as a student and she likes eating like a normal person, the dude just walked in guns a-blazing, he started freaking out when the cops got there, she tried to talk him down, he shot off his gun into the ceiling accidentally, the cops came in, no one got hurt), but between the adrenaline wearing off and the late night, she started to drift off.

She woke to Nicole shaking her shoulder, and shot up when she realized she was still at the station.

"What happened?"

"You took a little nap, although I have no idea how, that couch is hella uncomfortable. But your phone keeps ringing, and I thought you might want to answer it."

Waverly looked at her phone and saw that her sister, Wynonna, was calling.

Nicole left Nedley's office when Waverly answered her phone to give her a little privacy. She was at her desk finishing up some paperwork when Waverly walked out a few minutes later.

Waverly gave her a small smile. "Thanks for letting me nap. I have to get going, but um, thanks, for being there today. I hate to say it, but if I'm going to be in a hostage situation, I'm glad I get to see your face once I'm safe."

Nicole nodded with a smile, giving Waverly a peak at her dimples. "I'm glad you're ok. But maybe stay home next Tuesday, huh?"

Waverly laughed. "You got that right. Bye, Detective."

"Have a good afternoon, Miss Earp."

"Call me Waverly. It's the least you could do if you have to keep saving me from weirdos."

"Only if you call me Nicole. And I'm pretty sure you keep saving yourself."


	3. Chapter 3

On the third Tuesday AH (after hostage), Waverly decided to work from home. It was a pretty simple decision; staying home meant staying out of trouble, so on Monday Waverly stocked up on her favorite study snacks, told everyone she would be home the next day, and hunkered down for a quiet Tuesday.

Of course, life has a way of working out the exactly the opposite of how you want it to, so it was all Waverly could do to stifle a sigh as she heard sirens outside her building. Looking out the window just to make sure she wasn't in immediate danger, Waverly let out the long groan when she saw her neighbor, freaking Champ Hardy, standing on the ledge right outside of her window.

Trying to reign in her annoyance, she gently opened her window, and coughed in an attempt to alert Champ to her presence without startling him to his certain, painful death. He turned and looked at her as she opened the window.

"Close the window, Waverly. You don't need to see this."

Waverly fought the eye roll. "You're outside my window, Champ. I would see it either way."

Champ looked confused as he considered the words. "Huh, well, sorry I guess."

Waverly considered the man on the ledge's body language and softened her voice before she spoke. "What are you doing, Champ?"

"I thought you were the smart one. I'm gonna jump."

"Ok. Can I ask why?"

Champ laughed humorlessly. "Because Waverly. What's the point? Life if just, life. It's, it's, well you know what it is."

"No I don't, Champ." Waverly saw more officers and emergency personnel arriving on the scene, and took note of the crowd Champ was gathering. He even had a camera crew. Interesting. "Champ, look, I don't know what you're going through, but I don't think this is the way. I think-"

Waverly is cut off by knocking on the door. "Stay there."

She opened it to see several members of emergency personnel. "Hello, finally, you guys can come in. I was just talking to him."

The group entered Waverly's apartment, who cursed under her breath as she looked around. "Sorry about the mess. Anyways, that window over there is the one he is closest to."

Waverly gestured them in and leaves the door open as she moves to get out of the way. The officer nearest her introduces himself as Officer Holliday, and asks her what happened.

"I have no idea. I heard sirens about five minutes ago, looked out the window, and there he was. I was just starting to talk to him when you guys knocked."

"Well, ma'am, I am sorry for the inconvenience and may I say, it just isn't your lucky day."

"Yeah, Tuesdays never are, anymore." Officer Holliday gave her a questioning look, to which Waverly waved off with a shake of her head. "His name is Champ. He's my next-door neighbor. Other than warding off a couple drunken passes over the years, I don't really know him, nor do I know why he had to do this outside my window."

They chatted for a few more minutes as more people came and went, securing the scene and deciding on a plan. "Ok, ma'am, if you'll just stand-by, hopefully we can talk him down soon."

"Thanks." Waverly moved into the kitchen, deciding she needed a snack. Her head was in the fridge when she heard a familiar voice.

"I could have sworn I told you to stay out of trouble."

Waverly looked up to see a certain detective leaning on the door frame and looking smug.

"Actually, I think you told me stay home today, which I did, trying to avoid any hostage situations, or bank robberies, and trouble fricken found me." Waverly huffed in exasperation.

Nicole smiled, flashing those ridiculous dimples, and shook her head at the shorter woman. "I guess that means I'm going to have to take you into protective custody so this stops happening."

"Depending on how today goes, I might just ask you to. What are you even doing here? Do you talk jumpers off a ledge in addition to catching murderers and responding to bank robberies?"

Nicole was kept from responding as yelling began from outside the window. "No, I want to talk to Waverly! Let me talk to Waverly! Get her out here right now, or I swear I'll jump."

Waverly sighed, and moved around Nicole who walked with her over to the window. Both women leaned out, and looked at Champ, who had tears running down his face.

"Hey, Champ, I'm here. What's wrong?"

"I only wanted to talk to you. Who's that lady?"

"This is my friend Nicole. She's cool, you would like her."

"Hi, Champ. You doing alright?"

Champ laughed humorlessly, and gestured around him. He moved a little too quickly though, almost losing his balance as both girls in the window held their breath. They all sighed in relief when he righted himself on the ledge and addressed Nicole. "I'm doing just dandy. It's a normal Tuesday. Hanging out with the cops and just contemplating life."

Nicole fought to keep her face straight as she heard Waverly mumble beside her, "Welcome to my world."

Reminding herself that she is a professional, sworn to protect and serve, no matter how much Waverly makes her forget herself, Nicole cleared her throat and focused on Champ.

"Look, man, I get it. Life, it's weird. But I don't think you want to do this."

Champ looked like a petulant child as he insisted, "Yes, I do."

"I don't know. There's lots in life to look forward to. Cold beer, pretty girls. There's a lot you would miss out on if you jumped."

"You don't even know me, lady-cop. Besides, I wanted to talk to Waverly."

Before Nicole could respond, Waverly lost her patience and snapped, "Cut the shit, Champ. If you wanted to off yourself, you would've jumped already. You don't. So would you just come inside already, I have shit to do today."

Nicole grabbed Waverly and yanked her back into the apartment. "Ok, wow that is not helping."

"Well, he wanted to talk to me. That's what he gets."

"Waverly, I know you're over this 'saving people' thing, but you cannot talk to someone who is threatening to jump off a ledge like that. Do you want him to die outside your window right now?"

"Hey, if it's going to end this whole thing, then-"

"Do not finish that sentence." Nicole glared at Waverly. "Look, I have seen this kind of thing go wrong. You don't want that, trust me."

Waverly took in Nicole's serious expression and sighed, mustering up all the patience she could. "Ok, you're right. I'll go talk to him again."

The women moved back over towards the window, but stopped as Champ came crawling through it. Two officers in the room grabbed him and pushed him farther into the room, away from the window, and towards Waverly.

Champ looked almost apologetic as he addressed her. "You were right, Waverly. I don't want to die today. Thanks for saving me."

The cops led him out of the room as Waverly called out, "I didn't save you! Don't tell people that! Champ!" Waverly huffed in frustration before muttering, "dammit."

Nicole couldn't keep the smile off her face, even when Waverly looked at her with annoyance and a touch of rage. "See, I told you-"

"Not you too!"

Nicole stayed behind as the other first responders cleared the apartment. "Let me help you clean up. A dozen people walking in and out of your apartment causes quite the mess."

"Oh, no, it's fine. It was already messy before they got here. I'll make my sister clean it up later."

Nicole shrugged. "Ok. Um, I hate to ask this, again, but are you ok?"

Waverly returned the gesture. "I hate to say this again, but I guess? I wasn't even in danger this time, so why wouldn't I be?"

"A dude did ask to talk to you while contemplating throwing himself off the building. Its ok to have feelings about that."

Waverly sat down with a sigh. "Yeah, I'm glad it all worked out."

Nicole sat down on the coffee table in front of Waverly, offering her silent support as Waverly rubbed her head. She sat, waiting to see what Waverly would say next.

"Do you have any idea how far behind I am because of all of this?"

Trying to keep up with the abrupt topic change, Nicole just shook her head.

"Getting a PhD is not easy, let me tell you. And, I have other stuff going on in my life, a crazy sister, friends, just stuff... I do not have time to keep finding myself in these stupid situations."

Nicole nodded in understanding. "You know what they say; no rest for the wickedly heroic."

Waverly groaned.

"I'm just kidding, Waverly, sorry. I can't imagine how stressful these last few weeks have been. I'm sorry if it's too much. I would tell you to stay home or get out of town, but at this point I'm not sure that would help."

"Yeah, probably not." They both laughed, Nicole's attempt at lightening the mood succeeding. "Hey, you never told me what you were doing here."

"Oh, yeah. I saw you on TV."

"What?!"

"Yeah. I heard the call come over the radio, and I've been trained to talk people down, but there were other responders on the scene so I was going to go about my own business. The TV at the station was turned to the news though and I saw you talking to Champ. Not going to lie, I was kind of waiting all day to see if I would get a call about you. Turns out, I just had to turn on my TV."

"That is really embarrassing. And also, that would be how I got on TV."

Nicole laughed. "Yeah, so I thought I would come help out after all. Although, I had a feeling you would save the day ag-"

Nicole stopped as Waverly lurched forward and put her hand over Nicole's mouth. Nicole startled at the contact, and felt her breath catch as she noticed how close Waverly was.

"You know I hate it when you say I saved people or whatever."

Nicole smirked as best she could with Waverly's hand still covering her mouth. "And besides, I wasn't even nice to him."

The teasing light in Nicole's eyes dimmed at Waverly's serious tone, and she took Waverly's wrist in her hand to free her mouth.

"Hey. That wasn't how we're trained to deal with those situations, but it worked. That's a good thing. He's going to spend the night being evaluated, and he'll be back bugging you with his rugged jawline and tight cowboy pants tomorrow."

Waverly shrugged and sat back against the couch.

Nicole cleared her throat, trying not to miss Waverly invading her space, and she suddenly felt out of place. "Well, I think I should get going. You have stuff to do and I don't want to be in the way." Nicole stood and moved to the door, with Waverly following close behind.

She opened the door and walked out, stopping when Waverly called out. "Hey Nicole, thanks for coming today. It was nice to see a familiar face."

"No problem." Nicole smiled. "How about we go get a coffee next Tuesday? That way, you don't have to call me to come watch you save yourself."

Waverly blushed and bit her lip as she thought over the offer. "Sounds great. But full disclosure, I do expect you to save me one of these times."

Nicole winked as she turned and walked down the hall, muttering under her breath, "Oh, that would be my pleasure."


	4. Chapter 4

"Shit, shit, shit." Waverly mumbled as she hurried along the sidewalk, trying to avoid people and street posts alike. She was 15 minutes late for drinks with Nicole, and while she didn't usually mind being late to things, she found herself bothered by her tardiness.

They were supposed to meet for coffee earlier in the afternoon, but Waverly had gotten caught up in her research and Nicole had gotten called in on a case. So here Waverly was, hustling down the street at 8:15 to meet Nicole for a drink, although she didn't really know what that meant. Their coffee "date" had seemed pretty innocent; a way to hopefully keep Waverly out of trouble and to get to spend their regular, unscheduled Tuesday meeting together.

Waverly smiled at the thought that she had successfully gotten through a Tuesday without an incident for the first time all month. She even felt a little smug about it, and mentally flipped the universe the bird as she walked into Gus' Bar.

Waverly easily found Nicole sitting at the bar (thanks flaming red hair) and was surprised when she realized that just the sight of the redhead made her smile. She shook off the weird feeling as she approached Nicole, who was looking contemplatively into her drink.

Waverly pulled off her jacket and set it on the back of the chair before taking a seat next to Nicole, who still hadn't noticed her.

"Those must be some deep thoughts, detective."

Nicole jolted as Waverly spoke, looking at her sheepishly while fighting a blush. "Oh, um, no I was really just spacing out. Hi."

Waverly smiled in greeting as the bartender approached. Waverly ordered herself a vodka soda and Nicole another beer. Nicole smiled and finished her beer while the bartender got their drinks.

"So, I didn't get a call about you today."

"I know! I don't want to jinx it, but I think my run of bad Tuesdays is over."

Nicole nodded, "Well, that is good for you but unlucky for me. I've gotten used to seeing you on Tuesdays."

Waverly smirked. "Well, good thing you're seeing me this Tuesday then. And maybe we can work something out for next week as well."

They both chuckled. "I would like that."

Nicole fought a grimace as the words came out more seriously than she intended. "I just mean-"

"No, I know what you mean. I have gotten used to… seeing you. And I would like to see you again. After today, I mean, preferably without some kind of incident… like today."

"Great." Nicole said with a gentle smile on her face. "Right, so all day without a murderer or bank robber or potential jumper. How's it feel?"

"Feels really good, actually. I got a lot of work done. Make some good progress with some research I've been struggling with. It was a good day, for once."

Nicole smiled in delight. "I'm so glad to hear it."

"How was your day? When you texted earlier you said you got called in on a case?"

The light that Waverly's story had put into Nicole's eyes dimmed. "Yeah, it was… a really tough day actually."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Nicole shook her head as she took a long pull of her beer. "Not right now, but thanks for the offer."

Waverly nodded, and the two women sat in awkward silence for a minute.

"So, you never did tell me how you ended up here in Toronto."

Nicole appreciated Waverly changing the topic, and she gratefully dove into her story. For the next few hours the two women traded stories back and forth, Waverly about growing up in a tiny town called Purgatory, and Nicole about wanting to be a cop since she was a little girl.

The crowd in the bar ebbed and flowed, few people paying attention to the two women enthralled in their conversation. They caught the attention of several people when Nicole made Waverly laugh so hard she shot vodka and soda out her nose.

It was as they were cleaning up the bar from the nose incident that Waverly looked at her phone and saw the time.

"Oh, crap on a stick. I didn't realize how late it is. I have to teach at 8 in the morning." Waverly groaned as Nicole finished drying the bar.

"Oh, yeah, I have an early shift tomorrow. Here, let me walk you home." Nicole stood and swayed, immediately realizing she was a little tipsier than she thought.

"Woah." Nicole grabbed onto the bar, holding herself up right as Waverly laughed beside her.

"Well, well, detective. Looks like someone is a lightweight." Waverly stood, grabbing her jacket as Nicole got her bearings.

"Well, well, Earp, looks like somebody… no, I don't have good response. And I'm fine."

"Surrrrrree." Waverly intoned as she watched Nicole almost tip over walking out of the bar. She flung her arm around Nicole's waist, who in turn put her arm around Waverly's shoulder, walking out together. "Looks like I'm the one walking you out."

Nicole laughed with her whole body, making both of them sway and knock together. Waverly finally steered them out onto the street, and promptly realized she should have ordered an Uber before she had an armful of solid, stumbling redhead.

Said redhead straightened up when she felt fresh air on her face, untangling herself from Waverly, who was surprised that she missed the warm weight against her. "Ok, what direction are we headed?"

Waverly laughed at the question, "I don't know detective, where do you live?"

"Inviting yourself back to my place, already? That's bold." Nicole laughed at her own witty response, tipping over and forcing Waverly to grab her before she fell off the sidewalk.

"Ok, drunky mcdetective, we need to get you home."

Nicole pulled herself out of Waverly arms in a clumsy, drunken display of stubbornness. "Nope. I am a gentlewoman, and a gentlewoman always makes sure her lady gets home safe. THE lady. A lady. Not that I think you're my lady, I just meant-"

Waverly cuts Nicole's ramble with a chuckle. "I know what you meant. And I appreciate your chivalry, but I can get home just fine. Let's focus on you. Let me be a gentlewoman, huh."

"Oh man, you are such a good gentlewoman."

Waverly laughed at Nicole's drunken adoration.

"Ok, haughtstuff, where are we going?"

"Did you just call me haughtstuff?"

"Sure did. Stop avoiding the question, and let me get you home. Focus, woman!"

"Right, um I live that way." Nicole pointed. "And its only two blocks! So we can walk!"

Waverly laughed as Nicole started skipping in the direction she pointed. She hustled to catch up with the redhead, and grabbed her hand to slow her down. She held onto her hand as they walked, Nicole doing a great job of entertaining Waverly with stories of her neighborhood and all its characters. Nicole was in the midst of telling a very entertaining story of the gay couple who lived above her, named Fish and Levi, who once made their whole apartment evacuate, when she stopped and pulled up abruptly.

"This is me. This is my building. We made it!"

"Ok, you're adorable."

Nicole pouted at Waverly.

"You know, the pout makes you even more adorable."

"I am not adorable, I am tough, and stoic, and stalwart."

"Wow, you are not a drunk as I thought you were, throwing around words like stalwart."

"Well, it's true. Now, how are you getting home? Can I call you a cab?"

"Again, adorable. No, I'll get an Uber."

"Ok, that's basically a cab. You wanna come upstairs while you wait?"

Waverly grabbed her phone and launched the app. "Um, yeah, that would be great. It'll be about 20 minutes."

Waverly followed Nicole into the building and up a few flights of stairs. Nicole continued her story about having to evacuate because of her neighbor's argument, Waverly finding great joy in Nicole's story telling.

They turned onto the landing and Nicole immediately went still, throwing out her arm to stop Waverly. At the end of the landing, the door was slightly ajar. Nicole looked at Waverly and gestured for her to be quiet before whispering, "Go back downstairs and call the police."

Waverly nodded as Nicole started creeping forward. She waited a minute, trying to decide on her best course of action, and decided to go with the still tipsy detective. Nicole startled a little when Waverly walked up behind and touched her shoulder. Waverly shrugged off the glare the other woman sent her way as Nicole silently slid the door open.

On closer inspection, they could see that the door had been kicked open, and Nicole cursed under her breath at the lack of firearm on her person. If they weren't so tense Waverly would have found their whispered argument about how Nicole should not be carrying a firearm in her state, and no she was fine, she's a detective, funny but as things stood, she couldn't help but be peeved about it.

They walked through the apartment together, on guard and ready, taking note of the overturned furniture and broken items. They were almost through the apartment when there was a loud crash behind them, causing both women to jump. Waverly was so scared she barely noticed Nicole pushing her behind herself, and they both screamed as a cat shot out from under the couch towards them.

As quickly as they had screamed, they both breathed a sigh of relief seeing the feline.

"I didn't know you have a cat."

Nicole smiled at Waverly as she scooped up the cat, locking her in the bedroom. She walked back to Waverly in the living room, pulling her phone out and calling the station.

Twenty minutes later, Nicole's apartment was swarming with cops going through things and logging evidence.

Nicole noticed Waverly trying to stay out of the way as the officers moved around, and she went to rescue her.

"Hey, did someone take your statement?"

"Yes. I was just waiting to see if you were ok."

"Thanks for staying. Is your Uber here?"

"No, I cancelled it. Wasn't sure how long this would take."

"Let me have Jones take you home."

"No, Nicole, I want to stay. You'll need help putting everything back together."

Nicole nodded her thanks before a small smirk crossed her face.

"What are you smirking at?"

"You just want to stay because you like hanging out with cops on Tuesdays."

"Um, ok, it's Wednesday now, dummy."

"Maybe technically but I'm still awake, so its Tuesday."

"Whatever, at least you can't call me a hero this time. I did literally nothing save the day."

"I don't know, Waverly Earp. I think you saved my day just fine."

Nicole smiled her full, dimpled, beautiful smile before walking away as Waverly shook her head, fighting a grin.


	5. Chapter 5

Tuesday morning found Waverly smacking her alarm with a little more vigor than usual. She had been up late the night before with Nicole, who was still sorting through and righting her ransacked apartment. The thief that they had (thankfully) missed the week before hadn't taken anything from the apartment, at least that Nicole could tell. Truthfully, the incident was putting Nicole on edge, which is why Waverly had insisted on going over to the detective's apartment the night before.

They had eaten dinner that Waverly had picked up on the way, and then put on an episode of Fixer Upper, which they ended up talking through. They had been laughing at Chip's antics when Nicole had said something about having a huge crush on Joanna (who doesn't) and then the two girls ended up talking.

In retrospect, Waverly shouldn't have been surprised that Nicole is a lesbian. Thinking back, there were a few moments when Waverly wondered if the redhead was flirting with her, and Nicole had confirmed the night before, that yes, she was flirting with her. Waverly thought about Nicole saying that she would lay off the flirting if it was making her uncomfortable and she grimaced as she thought about telling Nicole that it wasn't making her uncomfortable, but she didn't think of Nicole like that.

Waverly tried to shake off the funny feeling in her stomach as she thought about the hurt but stoic look that crossed Nicole's face when Waverly essentially turned her down. The feeling got worse when she thought about Nicole's gentle, "I would never ask you to be anything you're not."

Deciding that lying there thinking about Nicole was not helping, Waverly finally climbed out of bed, heading about her normal getting ready routine. It was on the edge of the mind as she left her apartment that it was Tuesday, and that she should maybe watch herself, but she shook off her doubts and headed to work.

Waverly loved her job. She worked on campus, doing research as part of her dissertation, and her team of fellow PhD candidates was awesome. Everyone was working on their own research, but it was nice to have peers to bounce ideas off, in addition to her advisor, and Waverly loved that she was getting paid essentially to learn. She had chosen the wild west and the evolution of law enforcement because of her family history. She was a proud descendant of the great Wyatt Earp, and was endlessly fascinated by the time period of her ancestor.

The morning passed quickly, and when Waverly's text to Nicole about grabbing lunch when unanswered, she went out on her own to grab something quick. She went to a food truck not too far from campus and was grabbing her food to back to her office when she heard a shout. She turned and saw smoke coming from a house half way down the block from her. A young girl came out of the house crying for help and Waverly took note of no one moving as she took off for the house.

The girl was hysterical when Waverly got to her, and wouldn't move when Waverly tried to steer her further from the house that now had smoke billowing out of it. Waverly could see flames when the girl's cries started to make sense; her little brother was still in the house.

Rather than trying to get any more details Waverly asked where the boy was before hanging the girl her food, and taking off her coat, wrapping it around her mouth and nose. As she did this more people began coming over to help. She took off for the house, yelling for someone to call the fire department.

Trying to remember everything they taught you in school about house fires, Waverly got low to the ground when she entered the house. She looked around at what she could see, and spotted the hallway that would take her to the boy's room. She moved as fast as her crouch would and entered the smoke filed hallway. Counting the doors as she moved, she opened the second on the right, seeing more smoke but luckily no flames.

"Jacob! Jacob!" Waverly shouted for the little boy, moving into the room. He didn't appear, and Waverly tried to tamp down her panic as she started to search the room. She felt her heart rate accelerate when she didn't find him in the closet, and was starting to feel light headed as she checked under the bed.

If the room wasn't so smoke filled, Waverly would have let out a cheer when she saw a young scared boy looking back at her when she peered under the bed.

"Jacob! Come with me!"

"I'm scared." Jacob coughed as he cried.

"I know, buddy. Me too. But we have to get out of here." Waverly started coughing, gasping for air. She looked back at the door and could see smoke pouring in. "Jacob, we have to go."

Jacob grabbed the stuffed animal next to him and crawled out to Waverly. She wrapped her jacket around his mouth, the unfiltered smoke burning her already raw throat. Waverly opened the door to the room and immediately shut it as flames roared at her.

Her heart was in her throat and she still felt the heat from the flames on her face as she looked around. Spotting a window, she hiked the young boy onto her back and walked to it. Finding the window locked and herself increasingly filled with panic, Waverly make sure Jacob was holding on tight, and then grabbed a small chair. It took her several tries, and she was out of breath when the window finally shattered opened.

With all the strength she had left, Waverly cleared as much glass from the window frame as she could and crawled through it, falling on her stomach as they cleared the window. She tried to crawl away from the structure, and only got a few feet before she succumbed to the fire bring in her lungs and started coughing. She was in the middle of a violent cough when she felt Jacob's weight get lifted off her back. Waverly panicked for a minute before she was picked up, and she realized the fire department had arrived.

The next few minutes passed in a blur as she was taken to a waiting ambulance. She could see fire trucks and another ambulance, and she watched as personnel swarmed around the scene. An oxygen mask was placed over face as two paramedics started taking her vitals and asking her questions. She tried to answer the questions through the mask and her burning throat, but kept her eyes on the emergency personnel.

If asked, Waverly would have denied that she was looking for a certain detective, but she felt more and more disappointed the longer she sat in the ambulance and a redhead did not appear in her field of vision. Before she realized it, that field of vision went dark, and the two paramedics scrambled to get Waverly strapped down and to the hospital.

A steady rhythm woke Waverly sometime later. She blinked her eyes into focus and saw the mop of red hair she had been looking for earlier.

The owner of said hair was sitting in a chair next to the bed and immediately noticed when Waverly came to.

"Waverly? Hi." Nicole smiled her beautiful smile, which Waverly returned before frowning.

"Don't. I'm mad at you." Waverly croaked out, regretting it as her abused throat protested. Nicole saw the wince and grabbed water, handing it to Waverly with a small smile.

Waverly gratefully took the water and let it sooth her throat as she looked the detective over. She saw there were dark circles under Nicole's eyes, and she looked rumpled, a state Waverly had never seen the detective in before.

"What happened?"

"You have a hero complex on Tuesdays, and ran into a burning house to save a little boy."

Waverly smiled wryly. "No, I remember that part. What am I doing here? How long have I been here?"

"Oh." Nicole nodded, giving Waverly more water. "You suffered smoke inhalation and you have a gash on your leg from when you went out of the window. Once your adrenaline wore off, the combination of blood loss and a lack of oxygen made you pass out."

"Oh. Will I-. Wait, how's Jacob."

Nicole smiled, amazed at the women in front of her. "He's fine. Had some smoke inhalation, but not a scratch otherwise. The parents would like to thank you, when you feel up to it."

Waverly nodded. "When can I go home?"

Nicole paused. "They… uh… they had to do surgery on your leg to repair the gash. You damaged the muscle a little bit, but they were able to repair it. To answer your earlier question, you've been here about 30 hours, and you can go home in a few days. I'm so sorry, Waverly."

Waverly listened as Nicole spoke, frozen in shock. "Wow. That is…"

"Yeah." Nicole sighed. "Um… the mayor wants to give you an award for bravery."

"NO."

The next Monday, Nicole wheeled a grumpy Waverly out of the hospital. Waverly was glad to see the place go, and although she had a few months of physical therapy to undergo to rebuild her leg strength, she was glad everything had worked out ok. She had met with the boy's parents and finally learned about the fire. The girl had been trying to make grilled cheese for her and Jacob when she got distracted by the younger boy's antics. The sandwiches were forgotten, and suddenly smoke started pouring from the kitchen.

Waverly was relieved that both the little boy and his sister were ok. She was embarrassed by their parent's thanks and praise, and she was still fighting Nicole on receiving an award from the mayor. She didn't care what anyone thought, she wasn't a hero. She did what anyone would do, she just happened to be the first person there.

When Nicole pulled up in front of Waverly's building, Waverly felt truly happy for the first time in days. As the redhead helped her up to the apartment, Waverly promised to never take the small sanctuary for granted every again, no matter how much her neighbors annoyed her.

Nicole got Waverly into the apartment and situated on the couch, making sure she had everything she would need when Nicole eventually went home. Sitting down next to the injured woman, Nicole settled in as they watched Fixer Upper. Over the last few days with Waverly at the hospital, they had taken watching the show regularly, even inventing a drinking game to play once Waverly was home. They both got absorbed into Chip's antics and Joanna's herculean patience when Waverly noticed Nicole looking pensive.

"What are you thinking about so hard over there?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Nicole blushed before pausing the show and turning toward Waverly. "Do you remember at the hospital, when you first woke up, and you said you were mad at me?"

"Oh. Uh, yeah. What about it?"

"I just can't figure out why you were mad at me. I mean, was it because I missed lunch that day?"

"Oh. Right. Um… I guess that…uh."

"Waverly, just tell me."

"I wasn't mad so much as disappointed. I remember sitting in the ambulance waiting for you to come to my rescue. I guess I've just gotten used to you riding up to save the day when I get myself into these situations."

Nicole softened and she reached over the brush Waverly's hair behind her ear. "Trust me, if I had known it was you in that building, I would have been there. I didn't even know about it until Wynonna called me when you were in surgery."

"Oh. Well… I'm glad she called you."

"Me too, Wave, me too. God, I was so scared when she called me though. And the worst part was that I couldn't even be mad at you because you were being a god damn hero again."

"Don't call me a hero."

Nicole laughed and began chanting, "hero, hero" at Waverly who protested vehemently, trying to get the detective to stop. Pinching and tickling didn't quiet the detective, and the two of them struggled on the couch, moving around until Waverly noticed how close they were. Waverly felt that funny feeling in her stomach return, and still wanting Nicole to shut up, she did the next best thing she could think of, grabbing Nicole's jacket, and pulling her down to connect their lips.

All movement stopped as the two women paused at the contact, before both sank into the kiss as their lips starting moving together.

Nicole was the one to pull away once she gathered her wits, which took a huge effort due to the feel of the others woman lips on hers.

"What happened to friends?"

Waverly smiled. "Something I realized when I was in that house, unsure if I would make it out, is that the things that I've loved doing the most in life are the things that scare me. I jumped out a plane at 15,000 feet once. I was absolutely terrified, but to this day, it was one of the best things I've done."

"I scare you?"

"Yes, yes, you do. Because I don't want to be friends. When I think about what I want to do most in the world, its you."

Nicole melted, giving Waverly what could only be described as "heart eyes".

"That sounded so much more romantic in my head. Just ah- jump in, anytime Nicole, because I really, really don't know how to do this."

Nicole smiled and brushed Waverly's hair back again, drawing her in. "Oh, sure you do."

"Maybe I should just stop talking."

"See, you're getting better at this already." Nicole drew Waverly even closer, almost connecting their lips once again before Waverly pulled back slightly.

"Maybe you should stop talking, too."

With a smile, Nicole muttered against Waverly's lips. "Maybe you should make me."

As Waverly leaned in the final inch, meeting Nicole's lips with her own, all both women could think was "thank god for heroics."


	6. Chapter 6

Nicole awoke warm, and with a mouth full of someone else's hair. Once she cleared her mouth of the hair, she smiled, because the hair in question belonged to the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. Remembering the night before, when Waverly's tickling and pinching had suddenly turned into kissing, confessions, and more kissing, Nicole's smile grew into a downright grin. It was on the corner of her mind that it was too early to be this happy, but then Waverly stirred, slowly waking and Nicole couldn't help the warmth that radiated through her body.

The warmth turned to heat as Waverly stretched against her, snuggling in as she continued to wake. Nicole tried to tamp down her reaction, wanting to enjoy the sleepy morning, and knowing that anything like that was a long ways away, but she tightened her arms around the smaller girl, enjoying the feeling of their bodies pressed together. When Waverly opened her eyes, and shot Nicole a sleepy smile, Nicole had the profound sense that she would do anything for the girl laying in her arms.

~~~

The feeling of doing anything for Waverly came back full force several hours later when she had a gun pointed at Waverly, and the man that was holding her as a human shield.

Nicole and Waverly had dropped by the precinct so Nicole could drop off some paperwork that needed to be filed. They had been in the bullpen for less than five minutes when a masked man stormed into the precinct firing off several shots into the crowd of detectives and officers. Nicole could see at least two of her fellow officers down, and marveled at the fact that Waverly was once again on the wrong end of her gun.

Nicole felt time slow as Waverly, who really shouldn't have been out of the house, considering the girl was till injured from her heroics the week before, nodded at her, putting her full faith and trust in Nicole, while the gunman started ranting and raving, waving his gun around, directly into Waverly's face.

She knew it was a risky shot, and there were a million other things she could have tried, but when Nicole saw the gun pointed at Waverly, her whole world narrowed, and as Waverly nodded at her once again, Nicole took the shot.

~~~

Later, at the hospital, Nicole marveled at herself for taking the shot. She knew it would be risky, and that there was a chance she would hit Waverly, but she didn't imagine it would go like this.

A nurse came to get her, and she followed along, afraid of what she would find. When she heard the fury of a short girl being unleashed on a nurse, Nicole had to bite her cheek to fight the smile that threatened to overtake her face. The curtain in front of her was ripped open as a nurse stormed away. The nurse paused long enough to look at Nicole and fume, "She's your problem now."

Nicole looked at a smug and annoyed Waverly who shrugged and began to climb down off the bed. "Ready to go, sweetie pie?"

"Um, I mean, yeah, cutie, just… are you sure you're ok?"

Nicole was slightly in awe at Waverly's ability to roll her eyes and scoff at the same time. "Yes, I told you we didn't need to come here. I jerked my leg a little when I fell after you shot that guy. I'm fine."

"But-"

Waverly stopped Nicole with her lips, a method of interrupting one another that was quickly becoming both of their favorite.

"Let's go. You owe me ice cream for shooting at me."

"I was shooting at the guy-" Nicole was interrupted again, this time with a long, achingly sweet kiss.

"Ice cream. Let's go."

~~~

"So, I vote that next Tuesday we just stay in bed all day."

Nicole eyes nearly popped out her head when she imagined staying in bed with Waverly all day. "Um, I would be so ok with that. I'll have to get Dolls to cover my shift, but yeah, that could work."

The two women shared a fond smile. Nicole's smile slowly faded into a pensive look.

"Didn't Champ try to jump off your balcony the last time you tried to avoid a Tuesday?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. You gotta figure this string of bad Tuesdays has to end at some point though, right?" Waverly intoned, putting her empty ice cream cup on the coffee table.

"Don't jinx it! Ugh, Waverly, you never call a no-hitter in the 8th!"

"… right, sports. So, what do you want to do for the rest of the day? I'm definitely not going into work, and you already had the day off, so."

Nicole smiled at Waverly around a bite of ice cream. They had gone back to Waverly's place after picking up the frozen treat, and Nicole thought that Waverly's couch was quickly becoming her favorite place. She put it out of her mind that they had kissed for the first time less than 24 hours before, and just decided to enjoy being around the younger woman.

"Well, I guess I can clear my schedule to hang out with you."

Waverly face fell. "Oh, crap. You probably had plans. Forget it, you don't have to-"

Nicole cut Waverly off with her lips, and the kiss quickly grew heated. The moved together, enjoying the feel of lips on lips, and Nicole had just run her tongue across Waverly's bottom lip, asking permission to enter, when she was startled by a cold drip onto her jeans. She pulled back to see her ice cream melting, and dripping down onto her pants.

Waverly moved to get up to grab something to clean up the ice cream when Nicole stopped her. "I'll get it."

Nicole went into the kitchen for a napkin, and took a deep breath, trying to get herself under control, when a pair of arms encircled her waist from behind. She felt Waverly lay her head down on her back, and she put her hands over Waverly's at her waist.

In the smallest voice she could imagine from the shorter woman, Nicole heard, "Thank you for saving me."

"Hey, you saved-"

"No, no I didn't. Not this time. I'll give it to you for the other times, but this time, I just… froze. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to shoot someone for me."

Nicole turned in Waverly's arms, taking her face in both hands. "I would shoot anyone for you. I know we haven't known each other that long, and we just started, whatever this is, but, Waverly, I'm all in."

Waverly smiled before connecting their lips. She pulled back after a few moments. "I'm so glad to hear you say that, Nicole, because I am falling so hard for you."

They held each other for a while, doing nothing but enjoying each other's company.

"So, since you like me, and I really like you, what do you want to do today. And don't say-"

"You don't have to-"

"Don't say that I don't have to. I want to. I do need to run home to feel Calamity Jane, but other than that, I am yours all day."

Waverly smiled. "Well, let's think. We already had our Tuesday emergency, so-"

"Ahhhh, Waverly, jinxing it in the 8th, girl."

"Yeah I have no idea what that means."

"It's a baseball term. If a pitcher has a no-hitter going, you don't talk about it or you'll jinx it."

"Yeah, you might as well be speaking in a foreign language. Except I would understand you if you were speaking in a foreign language, I know those."

Nicole smiled at how adorable she found Waverly, and pulled her in for another kiss. Like their kisses all day had gone, it quickly heated and Nicole pulled back several moments later, out of breath.

"Ok, well, we definitely can't stay here, or more of that will happen, and I really hate taking cold showers."

"Nicole, I want more of that to happen. I want… you."

Nicole melted at the brave, yet unsure look in Waverly's eyes. "Oh, baby, I want you too. But there's no rush. I want to take this slow and really do it right, and I never want you to feel pressured just because I want you-"

Nicole was cut off again as Waverly pulled her into another kiss. Waverly pulled back with a smile before proclaiming, "You're amazing. I can't wait to experience… everything, with you."

With a laugh, Nicole finally untangled herself from Waverly's arms. "Well, you're going to have to wait today. I have an idea. You clearly know nothing about baseball, so what if we went to a game, and I taught you?"

Waverly pretended to think for a moment. "Nicole, I would go anywhere with you."


	7. Chapter 7

The Monday after the incident at the precinct found Nicole and Waverly missing one another. They had gone to baseball game later that day since the Blue Jays were in town, and even though Waverly still couldn't care less about baseball she had to admit that she had had a good time. Nicole was a patient and passionate teacher, and Waverly had gotten catch up in the atmosphere. Nicole had bought her a foam finger to go with her beer and a hot dog, and all in all, it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

But now, it was almost a week later and all Waverly could do was miss Nicole. The detective was working a case out in Scarborough, not too far, but the case was keeping her so busy Waverly hadn't seen her since Friday. It had been a long (albeit productive) weekend without the redhead, and now Waverly just missed her girlfriend.

Nicole must have been feeling the same because Waverly got a text that read: Ugh, I hate suburbia. Soccer moms are so weird. Miss you xoxoxo

Waverly couldn't help the smile as she responded. As long as none of those soccer moms catch your eye...

Waverly's phone buzzed instantly: I only have eyes for you.

The brunette shook her head in adoration. Will you be back-

Waverly was almost done composing her text when her phone was ripped out of her hand. She looked up to see a hooded figure running at full speed away from her. Without thinking, Waverly immediately gave chase, screaming, "Get back here, shithead", while in pursuit.

She followed the phone swiper for a few blocks, down one street and up another, and she was almost ready to give up the chase when she saw the would-be thief turn into what Waverly knew to be a dead-end alley. With as triumphant a grunt as she could manage in her out of breath state, Waverly turned down the alley prepared to square off for her phone.

What Waverly wasn't prepared for was an empty alley. She slowed but continued, looking for an exit of some kind where the thief might have gotten away. Reaching the end of the alley and not finding anything, Waverly turned around and saw three men boxing her in.

Growing nervous, Waverly cautiously walked towards the men blocking the exit. "You know what guys, you can keep the phone. I didn't like it that much anyways."

One of the men grabbed Waverly when she got near them. "I think we will keep the phone, girly, but we're taking you as well."

Waverly whimpered in fear. "Please don't. You can have my purse, just please, let me go."

The meanest looking of the men raised his lips in a snarl. "Oh, no, you're coming with us. Going to teach that bitch cop girlfriend of yours a lesson."

The man she had chased into the alley grabbed her as well, and they started dragging her back the way she had come. Waverly tried to fight, but finding herself outweighed by at least 300-collective pounds, she decided to bide her time and look for an opportunity to escape. A van screeched to the curb at the entrance of the alley and Waverly was roughly thrown in. The last thing she saw before the door slammed shut, throwing her into darkness was three of the most sinister smiles she could imagine.

On her way back to the precinct, Nicole worried her phone in her hands. Waverly hadn't texted her back in a few hours, and while it wasn't unusual for the shorter girl to take a while to respond, it had never taken her this long before.

Her steadfast partner, Dolls, noticed her distraction. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah, Waverly just hasn't texted me back. Its probably not a big deal, but I just…"

Dolls laughed softly. "You are so far gone for that girl."

"You are not wrong." Nicole's face took on a soft glow as she thought about the other girl. The look was quickly replaced by the same worried expression that she had had before.

Noticing her continued worry, Dolls cleared his throat. "I'm really happy you found someone, partner. And since you're still worried, why don't we swing by her place before knocking off for the day."

Nicole sighed in relief. "Thank you. And thanks, I uh, really appreciate your support."

Nicole didn't know Wynonna all that well. She had really only known Waverly for about 7 weeks, and she had yet to spend any quality time with the older Earp. So she wasn't quite sure what to make about Wynonna's frantic pacing and sharp tongue when she arrived at the Earp girl's apartment.

"Oh good, you're finally here!"

Nicole braced herself. "Wynonna, is Waverly here? She hasn't been responding-"

Wynonna cut Nicole off and shoved an envelope at her. Nicole took the envelope with trepidation, wary of taking anything from the older sister (who she considered a bit of a loose cannon after hearing stories from Waverly), and almost dropped the contents when she opened it. With her heart in her throat she looked over the photos of Waverly, and it took all of Nicole's willpower not to just shout at the top of her lungs.

There were several images of Waverly, each more heartbreaking and infuriating than the last. She was tied up in a dark room, tears streaming down her face in every photo, and Nicole's felt her world shift at the fear on Waverly's face.

After looking through the photos once, Nicole tried to detach and went through them again, looking for clues, and handing them off to Dolls who she knew was doing the same. After the photos, there was a letter. Dolls called the precinct as Nicole began to read.

Dear detective,

We have your girlfriend, and if you ever want to see her again you will bring $10 million dollars to a location to be determined. You will receive a text with instructions. Your girl is fine, for now. Don't do anything stupid.

Nicole took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and tried to discretely wipe away the tears at the corner of her eyes, before finally looking up at the older Earp. "Have you read this?"

Wynonna nodded. "Yeah, I didn't see your name on the envelope at first."

"That's ok. Do you know when it got here?"

Wynonna shook her head, crossing her arms and folding into herself. "It was here when I got home about an hour ago."

Nicole nodded. "Ok, well we exchanged a few texts earlier this afternoon. I thought it was weird when she didn't respond, but maybe she couldn't."

Wynonna nodded again and resumed pacing, slightly less frantic than before. She went back and forth across the room as Nicole got herself fully under control.

"Nicole, where are we going to get $10 million dollars?"

Nicole sighed, and was saved from answering as Dolls came back into the room.

"Nedley, Doc, and the team are on the way."

Nicole nodded and turned back to Wynonna. "We're going to get her back."

Two hours later the Earp apartment was a mad house with numerous law enforcement personnel filling the space. Nicole and Wynonna were sitting at the kitchen table, speaking with Nedley and trying to keep calm as more and more time passed.

"I just don't understand why we haven't gotten a text yet!" Wynonna semi-shouted, frustrating boiling over.

Nedley looked at the older girl in his calm and steady, Nedley way. "We can assume that they are giving Detective Haught time to get the money together. This attack was deliberate and so far they've been well-organized. They have a plan, and we just need to be ready when they final reach out."

"Ok, yeah, sure, that's all well and good, but we're missing out on a few things. Like, I don't know, $10 million dollars and a plan."

Nicole interjected before Nedley could respond. "We have the basic of a plan, which we will modify accordingly, if- when, when we hear. And the money is not a problem."

Before Wynonna could respond, Nedley spoke to Nicole. "Detective Haught, can I have a word."

Nicole nodded and they both rose from the table, moving away from the group. "Nicole, I will not let you use your own money-"

"With all due respect, sir, it's my choice. If giving them $10 million dollars is what we have to do to get Waverly back, I will do it. I would give any amount of money to get her back, so maybe instead of standing around worrying about that, let's work on what we're going to do when they finally each out."

Brushing off the annoyance that had crept up on her, Nicole took a deep breath as she returned to the table and Wynonna. Neither were quite sure what to say to the other, and they were saved from awkward silence by a chirp from Nicole's phone.

Both women startled before Nicole practically dove for the phone, seeing an unknown number had texted her. She unlocked it and read the text, seeing pretty typical hostage exchange instructions to meet later that night, with the money, come alone, no back up, etc.

Moments after the text arrived a video came through. It was Waverly, and Nicole's heart stopped momentarily, until Waverly spat at the guy holding the camera and said her trademark, "Eat shit, shit eater." Another man entered the frame and grabbed Waverly's hair, roughly pulling her head back. There was mumbling before Waverly spoke again.

"You received the instructions. Any deviation, and any less than $10 million and they'll… kill me. Nicole, don't do it! It's a-"

The video cut out as Waverly began pleading.

Nicole and Wynonna waited in silence, until Dolls cleared his throat. "Did that sound like she was saying, 'It's a trap'?'"

Nedley spoke up. "It did, but that was always a possibility."

Finally finding her voice, Nicole stood and addressed those around her. "Nedley is right, there was always a chance it would be a trap. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't change anything. I have to make a phone call."

Nicole left the room, while Wynonna looked around. "Is anyone going to tell me how we're going to come up with $10 million dollars?"

Nedley and Dolls both shuffled their feet. Wynonna quickly lost her patience with the two men and looked at the officer nearest her. "Hey. You, yeah you with the really glorious mustache. You look like you're in the know. Any idea what the frick is going on here?" The man balked, looking at his superior officer with slight terror in his eyes.

"Look, Miss Earp, I appreciate that you want to get your sister back-" Nedley stopped as Nicole re-entered the room.

"Wynonna, it's my money."

Wynonna's jaw dropped and she stared at the red head in silence. "I think you're going to have to explain that."

"I will, eventually, to your sister. For now, trust me. The money is on its way, and we need to solidify a plan. I just, I need to get Waverly back, and then, then I will tell her, I'll tell you both the truth about who I am."

Nicole's answer satisfied Wynonna who nodded and sat back, content to listen as people planned.

At precisely 11 PM, Nicole and Wynonna stepped into a park armed with $10 million dollars in cash and their sharp wit. Or at least, Wynonna's sharp wit.

"Wow I am freezing my nips off over here. You'd think they could kidnap a girl in the summer."

"Not helping, Wynonna."

"Sorry, I make boob jokes when I'm nervous."

"I've spoken to you like three times since I met you and you have made at least half a dozen boob jokes."

"What can I say, you make me nervous, Haughtstuff."

"Don't call me that."

Wynonna's retort was cut off as a man appeared across the park. He approached them cautiously, looking around and taking note of the two women.

"You were told to come alone."

Nicole responded before Wynonna could crack a joke. "I needed help carrying the money. Where's Waverly?"

The man raised his eyebrow at the women, looking around once again before turning and gesturing into the darkness.

Two other men appeared, holding a smaller figure between them. As the group got closer, Nicole and Wynonna could see that it was Waverly, and they both breathed a sigh of relief until she started fighting her captors. Her mouth was taped, so all the other women could hear were screams, but they tensed, watching Waverly fight.

Nicole was the first to react, taking notice of the man closest to them and his distraction. Seeing Waverly fighting with all her might prompted Nicole to take action, quickly punching the man in the face. He reeled back and before he could respond, Wynonna kicked him in the nuts. The man crumpled and Nicole took off for Waverly, who was still fighting her captors, who were trying to pull her back the way they came.

Nicole started with the bigger of the two men, taking out his knee with a solid kick. He fell, releasing his hold on Waverly, who went full force for the other man. The two women squared off against their villains, each holding their own until they heard a yell from behind them. Movement stopped as the women turned and saw Wynonna being held by the first man, who was pointing a gun at Nicole.

"This ends now. You two idiots, grab the money and get in the van."

The men spurred into action and went to grab the bags. It took all of Nicole's will power not to go directly to Waverly, but the women stayed where they were, paralyzed by the gun.

The man spoke again, directly to Nicole. "You have no idea what you've done."

Nicole snarled. "Neither do you."

The men took the bags to the van nearby, and the man pushed and pulled Wynonna until he was near the van.

"This isn't over, detective."

"You got that right. I'm going to hunt you down, and I will not stop until-"

"Yeah, yeah long winded hero speech. Got it. I guess I'll have to slow you down." The man shoved Wynonna away from, and before any of them could react, pointed his gun at Nicole and pulled the trigger.

Nicole felt searing pain along her ribs as she heard Waverly scream, before it all went dark.

"Nicole Haught, you wake up RIGHT NOW."

Nicole woke with a jolt, and looked up to see a very angry Waverly Earp in her face.

Grimacing slightly, Nicole smiled. "Hi baby."

"No, no, no, you don't get to 'hi, baby' your way out of this one, missy. You are in trouble."

Nicole furrowed her brow in confusion. "Ok, sure... Ah… I'm sorry?"

"You bet your top shelf ass you are. $10 million dollars!? You had- You paid- You, you idiot!"

Nicole wet her lips and adjusted, or tried to as it was really painful. "I'm sure you're right, but why? Waverly, what happened?"

Before Waverly could respond, there was a humorless laugh from behind her as Wynonna stepped fully into the room. "I'll tell you what happened, Haught-pants, Waverly here, in all her grief and rage over you being shot, singlehandedly stopped those d-bags as they tried to get away."

Nicole looked at Waverly in shock. "What? How?"

Again, Wynonna took the story teller duties. "Well, once she realized you had a vest on, and weren't about to bleed out, she grabbed your concealed weapon, that I didn't even know you had, btw, and started firing at the van. Took out two of the wheels and stalled them out."

Waverly shrugged with a small, somehow displeased smile on her face. "Your back up was already responding because of the gun shot. They would have gotten them."

Nicole shook her head. "My hero."

Waverly huffed, "I only do heroics on Tuesdays."

Nicole laughed, gasping immediately in pain. Finally taking pity on the detective, Waverly helped Nicole into a more comfortable position. Sensing the mood in the room change, Wynonna quietly bowed out, giving the girls their privacy.

Once Nicole was situated, she looked at Waverly who had a soft look on her face. Waverly softly brushed Nicole's hair back before muttering, "You really scared me."

"Right back at you, beautiful."

Waverly shook her head before pressing her lips against Nicole's. Fighting through the pain, Nicole cupped Waverly's jaw, pulling her closer as she deepened the kiss. They stayed close for several moments before Nicole was forced to pull back, out of breath.

Waverly took the opportunity to climb onto the bed and stretch out against Nicole, mindful of her injuries. Nicole enjoyed having Waverly against her, and they just sat, basking in each other's presence.

The silence stretched until Waverly broke it, asking "Ok, but no really, where did all that money come from?"

Nicole laughed softly, before mumbling, "Later. Promise."

Waverly let it go for the moment and they both dozed off, safe and warm and together.


	8. Chapter 8

As the girls huffed and puffed together trying to navigate the stairs to Nicole's apartment, Waverly lost her patience a little. "I am so tired of one of us being injured. And also, these stairs suck!"

Nicole laughed, jarring her bruised ribs a little, and just kept chugging along. The silence didn't cut it for Waverly though. "Ok, seriously, why do you live in this shitty apartment if you have $10 million dollars at your disposal at the drop of a hat."

Nicole clenched her jaw. It's not that she was annoyed with Waverly, she was just annoyed in general, and all she really wanted to do was get into her apartment, snuggle her kitty a little and take a nap with the woman currently propping her up. "Two things, babe, one it's not shitty. Stairs suck, yes, but this apartment is really nice. Its convenient to work and my neighbors don't suck. And two, I don't touch that money unless I have to. And ok, three things, because, three it's a lot more than $10 million dollars."

By the time Nicole's little speech ended, they were at the door, which Waverly opened with Nicole's keys and let them both in. Detaching herself from Waverly, Nicole bent down to give Calamity Jane a head scratch, and then moved immediately to the couch, where she sat down slowly, mindful of her injuries. Nicole heard Waverly moving around, presumably to put Nicole's stuff away that she'd had at the hospital. It had taken her three days in the hospital before the doctors had felt comfortable releasing her. She had major bruising on her sternum and two cracked ribs, so she was finally released on the Thursday after Waverly had been taken.

Nicole closed her eyes as she listened to Waverly move around, which now included soft tones to Calamity Jane as Waverly fed the picky feline. A few minutes passed before Nicole felt weight press down on the couch next to her. She kept her eyes closed as she felt cool fingers run over her forehead, tucking her hair back behind her ears, before dry lips pressed to the same spot.

"Hey, baby, don't fall asleep on the couch. You'll wake up uncomfortable. Let's get some more pain meds in you and then you can take a nap in bed."

Nicole hummed in assent. "Only if you nap with me."

Waverly's lips pressed to her forehead again, this time with a smile. "For a little while."

Nicole awoke several hours later. Calamity Jane was laying at her hip, and Nicole reached over the other side of the bed and found it empty. She took a few minutes to give Calamity a few scratches, and just laid in peace, relishing the quiet of her apartment. Finally deciding to go in search of her brunette counter-part, Nicole tried to get up, groaning at the searing pain in her ribs. Never a quitter, she was sitting on the edge of the bed when Waverly walked in.

"Why didn't you yell for me? I would've' helped you up."

Nicole smirked. "You've known me for long enough to know I'm much more stubborn than that. Where were you?"

Waverly chuckled, going over to help the redhead stand. "I do know you. I know you want to get better as fast as possible, and I'm sorry to tell you that the best way to do that is by asking for help." Nicole rolled her eyes as the walked towards the kitchen. Entering the kitchen, Nicole saw her table completely covered by books, articles, and Waverly's laptop.

Trying to seem insulted, Nicole looked at Waverly. "This is why you weren't in bed with me? You were… studying?" Nicole gasped as Waverly pinched her arm.

"Yes, I was studying. Some of us aren't on paid leave for the next three weeks."

Nicole groaned. "Don't remind me. I have no idea what I'm going to do for the next 21 days."

Taking pity on the now pouting detective, Waverly looped her arms around the woman's shoulders, pressing a brief kiss to her lips. "I was thinking about that actually. Do you want to sit down, and I'll get started on some dinner?"

Nicole tightened her arms around the smaller girl as she tried to step back. "No, I want to stay right here with you." The women leaned into one another, enjoying being pressed together as their lips met. They stayed like for a few moments until Nicole's stomach growled, making Waverly pull away with a laugh. "Go sit down, and let me make dinner."

Nicole sat as Waverly brought her over a glass of water. She looked through the papers strewn about the table as Waverly bustled around, putting water on to boil to make pasta, and preparing a salad. Once she was done with the salad and waiting on the water, Waverly sat down across the table from Nicole, who was reading an article Waverly had been going through earlier.

"Find something you like?" Waverly asked playfully. She almost lost her breath at the look Nicole sent her.

"I did, and I'm looking at it right now." Nicole replied, with a look of… Waverly wasn't ready to head down that path just yet so she sent Nicole back a shy smile.

Not sure exactly how to respond, Waverly changed the subject. "Ok, so I was thinking about how you have the next couple of weeks off, and I think I came up with something for you to do."

"I'm all ears." Nicole responded, before gingerly leaning back in her chair.

"Ok, so you know how I'm studying the evolution of law enforcement and the wild west?" Waverly continued after Nicole's nod. "Well, I've hit a wall with my research. I need some articles and other documentation from the town where Wyatt Earp died, but there isn't really anyone there to send it to me."

"Ok. Wait, Earp?" Nicole nodded, not quite catching on.

"Yeah, he was my great-great-grandfather. Ok, so, I have been planning on heading out there soon to get my hands on what I need. I wasn't supposed to go for a few more weeks, but I just got a call from the Sherriff out there, and he told me the sooner the better, because they're getting ready to overhaul the municipal building."

Nicole nodded again as Waverly stood to deal with the pasta. "Ok. Wait, what does that have to do with me?"

Waverly sat back down, bringing her chair closer to Nicole. "Well, I'll probably have to be there for at least a week. And if you're off for the next three, I was thinking you could go with me. There won't be a whole lot for you to do, which would be good for your recovery, plus that way I can keep my eyes on you, make sure you're taking it easy. Plus, I'll be there. I can show you my family's homestead where my dad was raised before he hightailed it out of there." Sensing hesitance in Nicole, Waverly leaned in, pressing her lips to the redhead's. "Please, will you come with me?"

The puppy dog eyes and soft tone did the trick, and Nicole nodded. Waverly smiled, and kissed her for longer. "I'm so excited! You'll get a whole tour of the town, well it's small and won't take long, but-"

Nicole tuned out Waverly's excited ramblings, content to listen to her voice. Waverly stood and plated their dinner, still rambling about the town.

"Wait," Nicole interrupted. "What's this town called?"

Waverly laughed. "Oh, you'll love this. It's called Purgatory."

Later, as they watched mindless TV on the couch, Nicole struggled with the best way to bring up the conversation she knew they had to have. Finally giving up on doing some kind of transition that made sense, Nicole spoke softly. "Hey, Waves?"

Waverly lifted her head off Nicole's shoulder and looked at her girlfriend with concern, worried about the soft tone. "Yeah, baby, do you need more pain meds?"

Nicole shook her head, and repositioned so she was looking at Waverly. "Maybe in a little bit, but I just… I want to tell you… about me? I guess. And I want to tell you about the money."

"Oh, no, baby, we don't have to-"

"I know." Nicole interrupted. "But I want to. I need to tell you about me." Going off of Waverly's nod, Nicole continued. "So, as you know, I have money. I have a lot of it, actually. I – my family – um…"

"It's ok, Nicole. I'm not judging, and whatever you say is not going to scare me off."

Taking a deep breath, Nicole continued. "I was born into money. My family has been well off for generations, and now the family fortune is… well, it's a lot. I'm not sure the exact amount, I would have to talk to my family's accountant. I didn't always have the best relationship with my parents. I came out at 15 and my mom was furious for a while. She never tried to kick me out, but she told me she was disappointed, and that I wasn't the daughter she raised. Uh… my dad was super supportive though. He chauffeured me on my first date, actually, and then complemented me on my taste."

"He sounds great."

"Yeah, he…uh… he was. He was also extremely supportive of me going to the police academy. My mom had just started coming around to me being gay when I graduated college, and then I told them I wanted to be a cop, and we were right back… right back to stilted conversations and forced civility."

Nicole stopped, shifting back and looking lost in her thoughts. Waverly was trying to think of a way to coax her out of her own head when she spoke again. "They died, right before I graduated the academy. I was top of my class, and my dad told me he would find me wherever I was on my first patrol, and speed past me so I could write him my first ticket." Tears began forming at the corners or Nicole's eyes and she angrily wiped them away as Waverly put her arms around her, fighting back her own tears.

"When they died, though, I was the sole heir to their estate. It was a really, odd surprise, because I partially thought my mom would have had me cut out of the will. That thought… that thought alone kept me in therapy for months, that my own mother was so against my sexuality and career that she would just cut me out… cut me out of the family fortune."

Waverly just continued to hold Nicole, letting her gather her thoughts, before continuing. "Um… but yeah, I never really use the money. I make plenty as a detective, and just don't… um, anyways, I mostly just donate the money, I have a few investments." They were both silent until Nicole sighed, shifting again and looking Waverly in the eye. "Do you have any more questions?"

Waverly brushed Nicole's hair back and quickly kissed her nose. "Just, uh, why didn't you tell me about it?"

Nicole shrugged. "I mostly don't think about it. And I'm just used to keeping it a secret, that way I don't have to question why people hang out with me, or what they want from me."

Waverly nodded. "That makes sense." They both nodded at each other in understanding and comfort, and sat in silence for a moment before Waverly spoke again. "I'm sorry about your parents. I think I would have liked to meet them."

Nicole laughed. "My dad, man, he would have loved you. And your sister, too." Nicole shook her head fondly.

Waverly leaned in, resting her forehead against Nicole's, whispering, "Thank you for telling me," before moving the final inch and connecting their lips. They kissed, lips moving against each other, growing bolder with each caress. They made out on the couch, moving closer with each passing bath, hands feeling. They had been kissing for several minutes when Waverly moved her hand up Nicole's torso, pulling back abruptly when Nicole winced and gasped. In her lust filled haze, Nicole tried to chase Waverly's lips, gasping harder as the movement jarred her sore ribs.

Waverly laughed, leaning back in and giving Nicole a brief kiss. "Let's get you back to bed, huh."

"Why, miss Earp, are you trying to seduce me?"

Waverly snorted out a laugh, standing. "Yeah, even if I was, you are in no shape."

Nicole scowled as Waverly pulled her up. She smiled at Waverly as she stood to her full height, taking advantage of her tall frame and pulling the shorter girl in close, ignoring the brief flash of pain. She kissed her girl, long and slow, feeling so happy, despite the pain and fatigue.

Waverly pulled back, smiling at Nicole before getting an odd look on her face. "You know, it's a good thing we're going of town for a few days. There's no way you would be able to save me on Tuesday, in your current condition."

Nicole shook her head as they walked towards the bedroom. "Lies, you are the hero in this relationship."


	9. Chapter 9

Nicole wasn't really sure what she expected. The town of roughly 6,500 people WAS named Purgatory, after all, and while she wouldn't exactly call it hell on earth, it could certainly be seen as a middle ground. They had only been there for four days, and Nicole was already nearing the end of her rope. The trip out and the first day or so in the small town had been fine, even with the unexpected addition of Wynonna, who had decided to tag along at the last minute.

Having not spent that much time with her girlfriend's sister, save from the whole rescuing Waverly thing, Nicole decided to reserve judgment and just see how the trip went. She decided she should have reserved something else, like her patience, when she found herself hanging out at a bar with Wynonna at 10 o'clock in the morning. Wynonna hadn't really left the redhead much choice when she had declared that Waverly didn't need Nicole's help that day and that the two of them were going to hang out.

"Hang out" in Wynonna-land meant taking shots before they even sat down in their seats, and multiple pints of the cheapest beer available. Nicole was sipping her beer (mostly just letting the liquid touch her lips and not swallowing any) as Wynonna was scoping out the 10 AM crowd, seeing if there was anyone interesting to talk to. Finding the clientele lacking, Wynonna turned her whiskey fueled attention on Nicole, who was trying to pretend she was anywhere else.

"So, I guess this is the time when I talk to you about how you're nailing my sister."

Nicole groaned and considered dropping her head to the dirty bar as she thought, 'literally, anywhere else.' Undeterred by the redhead's lack of response, Wynonna continued.

"Now look, I don't really want to talk about the specifics of you nailing my sister, because, I mean, gross, but I just want you to know that $10 million dollars or not, hurt her and I have a big gun that I'll be forced to introduce you to."

Nicole took a drink of her beer, fighting a grimace at the cheap taste, and put on her best cop face at Wynonna. "That big gun registered?"

Wynonna paused in what she thought was a menacing look, before laughing. "Oh, haughtstuff, you're funny. But no, really, I will cut you."

Nicole shook her head. "Look Wynonna, all I really want is to make your sister happy. She is… something else, and yeah, without getting into the specifics, she makes me happier than I could have ever imagined." Realizing the truth of those words, Nicole smiled into her beer, which quickly turned into an eye roll as she heard, "Bleh, you guys make the notebook look bleak" from beside her.

Nicole laughed as Wynonna declared that it was time to play some pool. The wild card took off for the pool tables toward the back of the bar as Nicole signaled to the bored looking bartender for a water. She gratefully sipped at it before Wynonna came flying back over to her.

"Hey, haughtpants, you any good at pool? I found some guys who think they're hot shit and want to challenge us."

"Wynonna, there is no way I could possibly play pool with my ribs right now."

"What, psht, you'll be fine." Wynonna caught the bartender's attention (who looked impossibly more bored) and ordered them around round of shots, and another beer for herself. Sensing that she was not going to get out of pool, no matter that she really shouldn't be playing, Nicole took the shot, hoping it would help numb the pain, before she followed Wynonna over to the tables and two burly bikers.

Three hours later, Waverly walked into the bar that was a now little livelier than it had been in the morning. It didn't take her long to find her girlfriend and her sister, as there was a loud cheer from a decent sized crowd toward the back of the bar. Waverly caught a glimpse of fiery hair as she wandered back, and saw Wynonna lining up for a shot at the pool table, sinking two balls with ease as the crowd around them cheered. Two bikers along the wall looked disgruntled as Wynonna lined up for another shot.

She barely missed the shot, cursing loudly before one of the bikers stepped up and lined up his shot. Waverly went up to Nicole as the biker sunk one ball and moved around the table.

"Nicole, what is going on?"

Nicole startled, taking notice of Waverly and almost shouting, "Waverly! Hi baby!"

The crowd around the table's attention was diverted to Nicole's outburst as the redhead scooped up Waverly and laid a noisy kiss on her lips. The cheering took on a lascivious tone before Waverly and Wynonna sent death glares that had some of the men backing up.

Waverly pulled Nicole's hands off of her, a more difficult task than she thought it would be, and turned to her sister. "Wynonna, what the hell is going on?"

Wynonna, focused back on the game, shrugged. "We're just kicking some ass at pool. No big deal."

"You both have been playing? Wynonna, Nicole is injured!" Waverly hissed, still fighting off Nicole's grabby hands.

"Meh, she's fine. I mean, she's shit at pool, but she's fine."

Waverly looked Nicole who was looking at her with a stupid grin on her face, swaying slightly.

"Has she been drinking? Wynonna, she's still on pain medication!" Feeling her frustration boiling over, Waverly heard groans from around then. The biker had missed his shot, making it Nicole's turn. The redhead made to move like she was going to shoot, and Waverly immediately pulled her back, pushing her down onto a bar stool before turning to her sister.

"Ok, Wynonna, what's the deal?"

"Its best three out of five, and we are tied at two each, so this is it. There's a hundred bucks on the line and we're solids."

Waverly nodded and then addressed the bikers. "Any objection if I take over for drunky here?"

One of the biker's looked like he was going to protest, so Waverly sent her best 'aw shucks' smile at the pair and they both quickly acquiesced. Turning to smirk briefly at Wynonna, Waverly looked at the table, seeing 4 more balls plus the 8 ball. She took her time, pretending like she didn't know that much about pool before lining up her shot. She roughly sent one ball into a corner pocket, making it look like luck, before lining up her next shot. Looking over the table, she smoothly sent two more balls into the side pockets, and the cue ball spun into position for any easy shot on their last ball.

The bikers faces darkened with each ball Waverly sunk.

Waverly's third shot sank their last ball, but it lined up poorly for the 8 ball. The bikers face lightened up a little, as Waverly looked around the table. She made a show of asking Wynonna what she thought she should do, talking over some angles, before she called the side pocket and lined up. Out of the corner of her eye, Waverly saw Nicole watching her intently, and she wished her girlfriend was a little more sober so that the redhead would remember this. But she fought a sigh and put enough English on the cue ball that it spun perfectly at the 8 ball, knocking it into the designated pocket.

The little crowd erupted, the men around cheering for the girls. Wynonna hopped over to the bikers for the money and the crowd immediately stilled as one of the bikers pulled out a knife. Wynonna put her hands up and obstinately murmured, "Jeez dude, all I wanted was the money."

The biker with the knife pointed it towards Waverly, who had moved in front of Nicole, who was a little too loopy to realize the gravity of the situation. "We ain't giving you no money for this little hustle. You can't substitute in no pro for some drunk butch bitch."

Wynonna, in all her glory, trying to coyishly respond, "No guys, that was all dumb luck. Tell them, Waves."

Waverly began to speak as the knife wielding biker got even closer, holding the knife much closer than Waverly was comfortable with. Before she could speak, Detective Mc-Loopy clued in and gasped behind Waverly, jostling her as she tried to shove her away.

All the jostling accomplished though was startling the biker, who moved toward her with the blade, and Waverly had no choice but to go for the knife. She ineffectively hit at his wrist, infuriating him before he went to swing at Waverly. She was able to duck out of the way of the knife, and deciding she was over it, regained her balance and kicked at his knee as hard as she could. He crumpled, 'like they all do' Waverly thought, releasing the knife which Nicole kicked away, her cop instincts kicking in the bare amount, finally. Nicole looked at Waverly with adoration again, proclaiming, "You are so pretty and I like you so much."

Scowling at the redhead, Waverly told her, "You are drunk, and in trouble!" which she then regretted as Nicole took on the look of a kicked puppy.

Looking over to see Wynonna dispatching the other biker, Waverly froze at the sound of the cocking of a gun. She turned and saw the bartender holding a shot gun at them, before he suggested they leave. Agreeing with that sentiment, Waverly started gathering hers and Nicole's coats, marveling in frustration at the redhead who had decided it was a great time to start drunkenly slurring that she was a cop and he better have a permit for that gun.

Apologizing profusely for all of them, Waverly rounded up Wynonna, who had $100 grasped in her hand, and led the way out of the bar. By the time she got Nicole bundled into her coat and Wynonna to stop shit talking the closed door of the bar, Waverly had had it. She screamed at the two of them and they all started walking back to their hotel, Waverly leading the way.

Nicole was trying to sleep. She had started feeling funny at the bar, and when they got back to the hotel all she wanted to do was wrap herself around Waverly and take a little nap. But Wynonna had followed them into their room and started regaling Waverly with an enthusiastic recounting of the morning/afternoon pool adventure, and it was making Nicole grumpy.

Waverly was trying to keep up with Wynonna, who was by no means drunk but had a good whiskey buzz, while trying to take care of Nicole, as the redhead laid perfectly still on their bed. She had just got Nicole's jacket and shoes off when she realized the redhead was starting to get overwhelmed with Wynonna, who, if anything, was gaining energy in her story telling.

"Wynonna," Waverly interrupted, "why don't you go take a nap?"

Wynonna, insulted at the interruption and the suggestion, guffawed. "I don't need a nap. You need a nap." She flung back, trying to use the line as an insult.

Waverly smiled at her sister. "I do need a nap, you're right."

"Aww, man. Lame. You're no fun, none, like zeroooo fun."

Waverly sighed. "I know. Look if you don't want to nap, go pack up your stuff. I can only assume your room is a mess, and we're going to leave in the morning."

"What?! We're leaving already? We just started having a good time! We can't leave yet!"

"Wynonna, you just got us banned from the only bar in town."

Wynonna's face dropped before twisting. "Yeah, we need to get the hell out of this town."

Waverly watched, amused, as Wynonna stormed out of their room. She took off her shoes and jacket and joined Nicole, who immediately sighed and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl. She thought the redhead had fallen asleep when she heard a quiet, "Am I still in trouble?"

Waverly laughed gently, twisting to press a kiss to Nicole's forehead. "Go to sleep, we'll talk about it when you feel better."

"Mmk."

Waverly waited for Nicole's breathing to even out, and then just watched her sleep for a few minutes. She was starting to relax herself, closing her eyes when she felt Nicole jerk against her.

"Wait, that guy had a knife!"


	10. Chapter 10

Nicole was happy that she seemingly no longer had a reason to fear Tuesdays. It had been three weeks since their trip to Purgatory, and other than the bar incident (which Nicole only remembered hazily), Tuesdays seemed to no longer include danger.

She was thankfully at least back on desk duty, and was just finishing up at the station to go meet Waverly when she heard Nedley clear his throat behind her.

"Haught, how are you feeling?"

Nicole turned and observed her boss, who at his best was uncomfortable with small talk, and smiled a little before standing slowly. "I'm getting there, sir. Thanks for asking. I have a doctor's appointment at the end of the week and we'll see what she says about getting back into the field."

Nedley nodded. "Ok, well, no rush. We want to make sure you're 100% before you're back out there."

"Right." Nicole agreed, starting to pack up her bag to leave. She was almost done when she noticed Nedley still standing there, still looking awkward. She turned and looked at Dolls, who sighed and stood up next Nedley, crossing his arms.

"Was there something else, sir?"

Nedley scratched the back of his neck, unsure of where to start when Dolls spoke up.

"It's about the guys who kidnapped Waverly."

Nicole paused and looked between the two men for a moment before Nedley finally found his tongue. "You might want to sit down, Detective."

"No, sir, I'm fine, just tell me."

"The prosecution agreed to drop the kidnapping charges if they testify against the people who hired them."

Nicole felt faint. She placed her hands on her desk, trying to remain upright as the blood drained out of her face. Dolls put his hand on her back, trying to urge her to sit before she shrugged him off, regaining her balance and standing up straight.

"They… they took her from me… and held her in a dark room without food or water for hours! She couldn't sleep through the night until recently, that's weeks of nightmares and restlessness, and they're… not even being charged for it? Sir, with all due respect that's bull-"

"Nicole, I know how you feel. We feel the same. But you and I both know that sometimes you have to do what it takes to get the bigger fish. Now look, these guys are still facing an illegal weapons charge, an extortion charge, and an attempted murder charge for shooting you. They will go to prison, you mark my words."

Nicole tried to take a deep breath through the weight she felt pressing on her still healing chest. "Sir, I don't-"

"Now, I wanted you to hear it from me. We still have your back, and Waverly's. We are a family here, and I will do whatever it takes to keep the two of you safe."

"And Wynonna." Nicole mumbled.

"What?"

"Wynonna. Waverly's sister. Gotta keep her safe too."

Nedley and Dolls nodded.

Nicole thought for a moment. "Wait, why do you have to keep us safe? Are we still in danger?"

Dolls nodded slowly, moving protectively towards Nicole. "The guys from the kidnapping told the prosecution that they were working on orders from someone named Bobo Del Ray. Sound familiar?"

"Yeah, he was my father's business partner until a few years before they died. My dad forced him out when he made some bad investments. From what I remember, he didn't go quietly."

"Well, it appears he's just been biding his time, waiting for an opportunity to come after you."

Nicole took the folder Dolls handed her, and saw it was filled with information about Bobo and his exploits since leaving her family's company. She saw surveillance photos of him with Waverly's kidnappers, as well as with some other seemingly unsavory characters.

"Ok, if we know it was this Bobo guy that organized this, why am we still in danger?"

Nedley and Dolls exchanged a look before Nedley spoke. "He's in the wind. Officers went to get him a little while ago and he wasn't at his home. We have an alert out on him, at the airports and the border, but we don't know for sure how long he's been gone."

Dolls interjected. "We also don't know what he's planning. We can only assume he's going to try and come after you again since he didn't get the money the first time."

Nicole, understanding, finished packing up her stuff and took her phone out of her pocket, dialing Waverly as she spoke to Dolls. "I'm going to have Waverly meet me at my place. I think we're going to go out of town for a few days."

Dolls nodded and Nedley moved back toward his office, but not before saying, "We'll hold down the fort, Haught. Keep that girl of yours safe."

Nicole listened to Waverly's ringtone as she nodded back at Nedley. She breathed a sigh of relief when Waverly finally picked up. "Hey, Wave, it's me. I need you to pack a bag and meet me at my place. We need to go out of town for a little while."

Nicole listened as Waverly startled rambling, asking a million questions in the adorable way only she could pull off.

"Baby, listen, everything is fine. I mean, it's not, fine, exactly, but I'm ok, are you ok? Ok, see its fine." Nicole sighed as Waverly started frantically asking questions. "Waves, look I will explain everything. Pack a bag, and meet me. I… I just need to keep you safe. Oh, and grab Wynonna, she needs to come with us too."

Nicole met a fairly frantic Waverly and a bored looking Wynonna at her apartment 20 minutes later with Dolls in tow. Waverly was pacing the hallway while Wynonna sat on the ground outside Nicole's apartment, scrolling on her phone and looking bored.

Waverly rushed to Nicole, sweeping her into a hug when she saw the taller woman.

"Baby, why are you guys in the hallway? I gave you a key."

"I know, I just assumed it was for emergencies, and this didn't seem like-" Nicole cut Waverly off her favorite way, pressing her lips to the shorter girls'.

"It's not just for emergencies. It's for whenever. I want you around." Nicole shrugged and the two women stared into each other eyes, melting a little until Wynonna loudly cleared her throat, effectively ending the moment.

Nicole backed away from Waverly and unlocked her front door, ushering everyone into her apartment, and into the living room where Waverly and Wynonna sat on the couch with Dolls taking up residence at the window, watching the street below. Nicole explained the situation to the women, who went from scared to pissed to indignant. Waverly thought they should stand their ground, 'Earp's are fighters and I won't back down', but agreed to get out of town for a few days when Nicole convinced her they were turning it into a romantic getaway.

Wynonna made an understandable barfing noise as Nicole and Waverly got lost in each other's eyes again and volunteered to stay behind. Her announcement set off a flurry of arguments from both the other women until a compromise was reached wherein Dolls offered to escort Wynonna out of town, 'in the other direction from those two morons'.

An hour after they had met at Nicole's apartment, the four of them split up, Nicole and Waverly towards the mountains, and Dolls and Wynonna up the coast of Lake Ontario towards the beach. Waverly worried her nails the whole drive to the outskirts of Sudbury, a moderately sized town about four hours from Toronto. Nicole steered them to a nice sized cabin in the foothills and Waverly felt herself relaxing for the first time since Nicole had called her this afternoon.

"What is this place?" Waverly asked as she and Nicole unloaded the car, having stopped for groceries and other necessities on the way in.

"This place belongs to a friend. My family, well actually I guess, _I_ own an estate about an hour back the way we came, but I didn't want to go anywhere associated with me. I don't know what Bobo knows and I don't want to leave him breadcrumbs in case he comes looking for us."

Waverly nodded in understanding. "Bobo is such a stupid name."

Nicole laughed and agreed, and the two them worked to put things away in cabinets and then went to check out the rest of the cabin. It was moderately sized, four bedrooms with a nice big living room that went right into the kitchen. There was an amazing deck on the east side, which Waverly was sure would be a great place to watch the sun rise from, and it seemed like a cozy, well-loved family place.

Despite the stress of the day, Nicole and Waverly had a quiet dinner and felt themselves settling in to the homey cabin, fears and worries mostly left behind. Nicole was determined to make this a more relaxing trip than their Purgatory excursion, and she vowed to herself to make this a more memorable one for the both of them as well. Now that she was almost completely healed, she wanted to be able to show how much she appreciated her girlfriend.

The two of them cuddled up on the couch and put a movie on for background noise. Nicole was finally able to fully relax, having Waverly warm in her arms. She started to doze, not all that interested in the movie, and startled a little when she felt lips on her neck. Waverly shifted in her arms, turning to run her lips up and down Nicole's neck, up her jaw, finally reaching her lips. Nicole shifted down to meet Waverly's lips more fully, pressing into the kiss and wrapping her arms more securely around the shorter girl. She was enjoying the play of lips on hers, and was amazed, as she always was, that kissing could feel so good.

Nicole started to pull back as she felt herself getting lost in the kiss when Waverly shifted again, straddling her. The redhead settled the other girl more fully on her lap, running her hands up and down Waverly's back, gripping Waverly's hips. Waverly reached up and ran her hands through Nicole's hair, gripping the red locks and pulling her closer.

The need to breath forced Nicole to pull back. She didn't go very far as Waverly tightened her hands in Nicole's hair and rested their foreheads together, both trying to catch their breath.

"Wave," Nicole breathed, softly against Waverly's lips, "baby, we need to slow down."

Waverly shook her head and leaned back to look Nicole in the eyes. "I want this. I want you."

Nicole tightened her grip on Waverly's hips at the words. "I want you too. But we don't have to do anything-"

Nicole was cut off as Waverly pressed their lips back together, the kiss more passionate and desperate than any others they had shared. The kiss went on and on, hands gripping and feeling. Nicole pulled back when Waverly's hands creeped up her shirt and landed on her bra.

"Whoa, baby." Nicole caught Waverly's hand and tried to catch her breath again. "Wave, I want- I want to talk about this, before-"

"I know. I know we haven't done this, yet," Waverly nervously but her lip and looked down, "between both us being hurt and busy, and my sister being with us in Purgatory, but… I like you, a lot."

Nicole put her finger under Waverly's chin and titled her head up, looking her in the eyes. "I like you too." They smiled at one another before Nicole gently reconnected their lips. They continued kissing on the couch, losing their shirts before Nicole shifted and stood up, lifting Waverly and carrying her to the bedroom.

Waverly woke the same way she had for the last three days; warm, surrounded and sated. Although they had cuddled previous to the events of their first night at the cabin, being intimate with each other added, well intimacy. She had woken in Nicole's arms before, but there was something about waking up skin to skin after hours of exploring one another to delirious pleasure.

She was just starting to think about wiggling out of Nicole's arms when the redhead in question shifted, pulling Waverly more fully against her as she awoke with a soft moan.

"Morning, baby" Waverly heard as she felt soft lips press to her hair.

Waverly smiled, snuggling into Nicole's arms, deciding she could ignore her rumbling tummy for a few more minutes in favor of more cuddling. They laid together for a while until the rumbling got too much, and they untangled with a laugh. Waverly got dressed before she headed to the kitchen to get started on breakfast and Nicole headed to the bathroom.

"It's going to be a beautiful day, Waves. We should go get outside a little." Nicole said as she entered the kitchen, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and admiring the trees and forest outside the cabin. Waverly was kept from responding as she looked at her girlfriend. They were both enjoying their respective views when Nicole turned to look at Waverly, who blushed, embarrassed at getting caught in her admiration.

"Hmmmm, you mean you actually want to leave the cabin?" Waverly outed.

Nicole chuckled and scooped Waverly up, pressing a good morning kiss to the brunette's lips. "Well, I wouldn't want to tire you out too much. I thought after three straight days in bed you might be ready for something different."

Waverly pressed her lips back to Nicole's, holding the redhead close when she would've pulled away. "I was thinking we could do something different, but I really had like, the couch in mind."

The sly comment drew a loud snort out of the redhead, and the two finally separated as Waverly flipped the pancakes and Nicole got their coffee ready. They enjoyed a quiet breakfast and Waverly was ready to pull Nicole to said couch when Nicole's phone started ringing from the bedroom.

She answered it after a few rings, and it was immediately apparent that something was wrong. Waverly listened as Nicole made a lot of agreeing noises, said no a few times, and finished the phone call with a 'yes, sir, right away.'

Seeing the look on Nicole's face, Waverly immediately grabbed their suitcases out of the closet and started opening drawers, repacking the clothes strewn about. Nicole watched her for a moment before going over to her and grabbing her gently around the middle. Waverly paused in her packing and felt her shoulders growing more and more tense as Nicole held her.

"Please, please tell me Wynonna is ok."

Nicole stiffened even more against Waverly before brushing her lips against the other girl's shoulder and speaking gently. "She is ok. There was an incident, but she will be fine."

Waverly sagged, letting Nicole support her as relief coursed through her. "What happened?"

"Someone from Bobo's network found Dolls and Wynonna. We were right, they're still looking for a way to get to me. They tried to snatch Wynonna, but Dolls was there and stepped in, and he… uh, he got shot. And he didn't have a vest on."

"Oh, no, Nicole-"

"That was Captain Nedley. We gotta get back to the city. Dolls is stable for now, but…"

"Of course, baby. Why don't I finish packing our stuff? You should go clean the kitchen and get the stuff out there put back together."

Nicole continued to hold Waverly for a moment before nodding, placing another kiss on Waverly's shoulder before heading for the kitchen.

Waverly was almost done packing up their toiletries when she heard a loud crash from the living room. She went to investigate and she saw the window in front by the front door break as a canister was thrown through the hole. Smoke started billowing out of the canister as she heard, "Waverly run!"


	11. Chapter 11

Previously…

Waverly was almost done packing up their toiletries when she heard a loud crash from the living room. She went to investigate and she saw the window in front by the front door break as a canister was thrown through the hole. Smoke started billowing out of the canister as she heard, "Waverly run!"

…

Rather than running, Waverly grabbed a nearby coat and picked up the canister, heaving it back out the broken window right before it emitted a loud bang accompanied by a flash she was sure would have disoriented her if she hadn't gotten rid of it. She grabbed an umbrella and ran towards the sounds of fighting, seeing Nicole holding her own against a man easily twice her size. Waverly lifted up the umbrella to hit at Nicole's attacker when she was grabbed from behind and none-to-gently lifted off her feet.

Rather than struggling, Waverly immediately went completely limp, and the man holding her struggled to keep his grip. Nicole, seeing Waverly limp in the man's arms, started fighting her attacker with a new vigor, eventually maneuvering him to a place where a solid kick to the man's chest sent him flying out a window. Nicole had never really liked the sound of crashing glass, but she found a lot of satisfaction in the sensation as the man went falling half a story out of the cabin and to the rocky ground below.

Nicole turned and saw Waverly on the ground, the man who was trying to subdue her looking confused at the smaller girls 'lack of fight'. Before Nicole cold do anything though, a familiar man walked in, pointing a gun at Nicole.

"Bobo. Welcome. I wish I could say it's nice to see you."

"Nicole. Likewise. I am particularly displeased that you made me chase you and your little friends so far, just so we can have this conversation."

"Well, you found me. Why don't you and I talk. Let Waverly go, and I'll give you whatever you want."

Bobo laughed, taking his eyes off Nicole to look at Waverly, who was still playing dead on the ground. "It doesn't look like she wants to go anywhere. And besides, the effort I put in to plan the perfect kidnapping, just for that little girl to make a fool outta me, no I'm not just going to make it easy. She owes me for all the trouble she's caused, and I will get my repayment just as soon as I'm done with you."

Nicole saw red. "I don't owe you anything, Bobo."

"That is where we are going to have to agree to disagree. Your family, of which you are the only living member, owes me everything."

Waverly shifted the tiniest bit from her spot on the floor and knew she was going to have to keep Bobo's attention on herself. She wasn't exactly sure what Waverly was trying to achieve by staying still on the ground, but after everything they had been through together, Nicole figured she owed Waverly a little bit of faith in her ability to take care of at least herself. She looked once more at Waverly, who briefly made eye contact and sent her a ghost of smile before Nicole refocused on Bobo.

"Ok, Bobo, let's talk. You say my family owes you everything? Tell me why?"

Bobo scoffed in derision, waving his gun at Nicole before loosening his grip. "If you think you can distract me by getting me to reveal my plan while someone somewhere executes a cunning escape and/or rescue attempt while I ramble, you are sadly mistaken."

Before Nicole could respond that that is exactly what she was hoping for, there was a muffled thud from behind Bobo as his henchman dropped to the ground, a triumphant Waverly rising from her spot on the floor.

"Actually, that's exactly what we were hoping for, but that's ok, I can improvise." Waverly retorted, holding a small dart in her hand.

Bobo growled low in his throat at Waverly, and Nicole took advantage of his distraction to hit the loosened weapon out of his hand. He turned back to her, rage all-consuming, when there were loud shouts and several officers in full body gear entered the cabin, pointing weapons at Bobo, who put his hands up with a maniacal grin. "This isn't over, Haught."

Nicole didn't even bother responding as an officer approached Bobo. She instead rushed over the Waverly, who was poking the fallen henchman with her foot.

"Baby, what? How? I mean, you are amazing!"

Waverly sank into Nicole's arm with a quiet giggle, before rambling. "I pulled this dart thing out the dude's jacket before he dropped me. I wasn't really sure what it was going to do, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. He's still alive, right?"

Nicole looked at the guy who was starting to stir, and tightened her arms around Waverly. "Yeah, he's fine. It's a tranquillizer dart." Nicole placed a gentle kiss to Waverly's hair. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"You saved the day, again."

Waverly pulled back with a disgruntled look. She paused when saw the look on Nicole's face and conceded with a small smile. "Ok, fine, I'll give you this one."

Nicole sighed, pulling her back into her arms. "My hero."

Waverly laughed as an officer approached the pair, ushering them to the bedroom where they would be out of the way. They sat on the bed, still in each other's arms, until Nedley walked in the room, accompanied by a man in a suit. Nedley seemed to breathe a little easier seeing the girls together and ok, before he introduced the man. "Haught, Waverly, this is Special Agent Moody."

Moody held out his hand to the girls, both briefly shaking it before wrapping up in each other again.

"Ladies, sorry about all the trouble today. We tried to get here as soon as we could once we learned Detective Dolls had been injured. Looks like we were a little late."

"Not a problem, sir, we held it down." Nicole said.

"You did great. I need to speak with the both of you, when you feel up to it, and then you should leave this all behind you."

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what was this all about?"

Moody rubbed the back of his neck. "As you know, your father forced Bobo out of your family's company after he made some bad investments. After that, Bobo couldn't find a job and lost pretty much everything. I wish I could give you some great reason that he's caused you so much grief over the last few months, but it was all just about money."

Nicole nodded in understanding, before shaking her head in disdain. "Well, I'm just glad it's over."

Moody nodded before leaving the room with Nedley. Nicole and Waverly held each other for a little while longer before Waverly shifted, muttering, "Dolls", and both women finished packing their stuff.

Nicole heard laughter when she stepped into her apartment, and she felt the weight of the day lift off her shoulders. She walked into the kitchen and saw Waverly and Wynonna laughing together as Dolls sat at the table, watching the girls' antics with a smile.

Wynonna was the first to notice Nicole standing there, and she smiled, before nodding in her direction. Waverly saw the gesture, and turned, squealing when she saw Nicole. Not two seconds later, Nicole caught Waverly who had thrown herself into the taller woman's arms. They held each other for a moment before Waverly pulled back and gave Nicole a sweet greeting kiss.

Waverly squirmed out of Nicole's arms. "Welcome home, babe. Dinner should be ready in about 15 minutes."

Nicole hummed as a beer was placed in her hand, and she watched as Waverly moved around the kitchen, finishing getting things together. It had been just over a month since the incident with Bobo, and things were finally starting to calm down. Dolls was getting ready to come back to desk duty, and him and Wynonna had settled into a kinda, sorta flirty, thing that they refused to define. Both seemed happy though, so Nicole was content to run interference on their behalf to keep Waverly out of it.

Her and Waverly were better than ever. They didn't officially live together yet, but Waverly spent most of her time at Nicole's place, both out of desire to be around the redhead and because Dolls was at her and Wynonna's place all the time. Nicole was going to ask her to move in, she was just trying to find the right time, and it too all of her will power to not blurt it out right then and there.

Nicole wasn't 100% prepared to let her guard down on Tuesdays just yet, but that particular Tuesday, standing there in her kitchen with her friends and the love of her life, she was pretty confident is saying things were just as they were supposed to be.

Author's Note:

Alright guys, we are almost there. There is going to be an epilogue that I will try to have up next week.

I want to thank you for sticking with me. I have really enjoyed reading your comments. I do read all of them and I always look forward to seeing what you all think. I really enjoy being part of this fandom, and getting to share this idea with you has been extraordinarily rewarding.

I hope you enjoyed this story! See you next week!


	12. Chapter 12

Blood rushed to Nicole's ears and she had to fight to remain upright when Nedley said the words, "Waverly's been taken."

She thought this was over. It had been over two years since Waverly found herself in weird and oddly dangerous situations every 7 days, and then the drama with Bobo, and it was supposed to be over.

They were happy. They were so sickeningly happy that Wynonna couldn't stand to be in the same room as them for more than 5 minutes at a time, and Waverly was supposed to be safe, because the danger was supposed to be over.

Nicole vaguely registered voices as Dolls and Wynonna rushed in, coming to a stop behind her as Nedley addressed the three of them. "Now, look you three, I don't want any of you flying off the handle. All we know is that we got a ransom call – some yahoo grabbed Waverly-" Nedley paused as three sets of jaws clenched, "and the little piss-ants are being pretty level headed considering the circumstances. Now, I need you all to sit tight, hostage negotiation should have word in a minute."

Nedley walked away and Nicole hung her head, trying to get a handle on her emotions before facing Dolls and Wynonna. Dolls cleared his throat and Nicole finally brought her head up to look at them.

"Nicole, she'll be fine. You know how strong she is." Wynonna said, putting a hand on Nicole shoulder. She knew it was supposed to be a gesture of comfort from the older Earp, but it just made Nicole's chest tighten even more.

It was a few more moments before Nedley and several officers came rushing toward them. "We got a location. The weasel didn't cover his tracks well enough and we were able to find their location. The three of you ride with me."

Nicole couldn't honestly tell you anything about the ride, one moment she was at the station, the next, she was standing in front of an abandoned building with Nedley, Wynonna, and Dolls. She knew procedure was to wait for hostage negotiation to get heat signatures to figure out how many people were in the building and come up with a game plan, but this was Waverly, and tactical seemed to be taking their dear sweet time. So Nicole did the only thing she could really think of; she drew her sidearm, checked with her backup, and ran like hell into the building.

The door she went through led into a wide-open space, and she was surprised to see Waverly in the middle of the room. The main source of her surprise was that Waverly wasn't tied to chair, or even seemingly being held at all. The shorter girl looked very nervous, but once Nicole took stock of their surroundings, she saw that Waverly was surrounded by… candles.

Wynonna patted Nicole on the shoulder with a muttered, "go get her, tiger," before the three of them left back the way they came, leaving a confused Nicole with a nervous Waverly. Nicole put her sidearm away and looked at Waverly, who held her hands out, gesturing Nicole near. The redhead finally felt like she could breathe again once she felt Waverly's hands in hers, before quietly asking, "Waves, what is going on?"

Waverly smiled at Nicole, bringing their join hands to her mouth so she could kiss Nicole's knuckles. "Well, first, I'm sorry for scarring you. I wanted this to be a surprise, but now I'm starting to think giving you a heart attack first was not such a great idea." Waverly looked nervously at their surroundings before Nicole squeezed her hands, bringing Waverly's attention back to her.

"Uh, right, so I had this big speech planned, but I'm kinda nervous so I just want to say that I love you. The last two years with you, getting into trouble, saving the day, and settling into a quiet life, have been more happy and fulfilling than I could have imagined." Waverly let one of Nicole's hands go, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a ring. "Nicole, will you marry me?"

Nicole couldn't stop the gasp, marveling at Waverly and the ring and the prospect of forever, and suddenly found herself unable to form words. She nodded her head vigorously before grabbing Waverly and kissing her, bringing the smaller girl against her and trying to convey through the kiss just how happy she was. Waverly kissed her back for a few long moments, before pulling back and resting their foreheads together. "So... was that a yes."

Nicole nodded again, this time able to say the word, "yes", before she pulled Waverly back in for another kiss. This one went on for a while longer until Nicole heard a throat clear behind her. She let Waverly go, and turned to see Wynonna, Nedley, and Dolls all looking anxious.

Waverly wrapped her arm around Nicole, and practically shouted, "SHE SAID YES!" Wynonna let out a cheer, rushing to hug Nicole and Waverly, while Nedley and Dolls hung back. Nedley looked a proud, but stoic, dad, while Dolls smiled as big as Dolls could smile. Nicole let Wynonna hug her for a minute before she wriggled away, letting the Earp sisters have a moment.

After shaking hands with Dolls and getting a gruff back pat from Nedley, Nicole turned back to Waverly who had tears in her eyes and was still holding the ring. They met in the middle with another (shorter) kiss and Waverly finally placed the ring on Nicole's finger, with a quiet, "I love you". If they had been able to pay attention to those around them, they would have seen tears being discretely wiped away (by Dolls, of all people), but all they could see was each other.

They exchanged another short kiss and turned to their family again, and a while later found themselves at a bar to celebrate. Nicole had wanted to take Waverly straight home to celebrate just the two of them, but Wynonna insisted Getting engaged called for shots, and that they couldn't just go home because they had forever to celebrate together "like boring married people".

It was during a quieter moment, after Nedley had left and Dolls had distracted Wynonna when Nicole bent down and placed a soft kiss on Waverly's shoulder before whispering, "I'm a little mad at you."

Waverly looked over her shoulder, pressing her lips gently to Nicole's for a moment before asking, "Why?"

"Because I was going to propose next month when we go to the mountains, and you ruined my surprise."

Waverly laughed and turned fully into Nicole, pulling her down for a longer kiss as they heard Wynonna yell at them from across the room.

"I guess I'll just have to make it up to you, huh?" Waverly muttered, pulling back to look into Nicole's eyes.

Nicole looked amused and shook her head. "Nah, now that I think about it, you always did beat me to the punch."

It was Waverly's turn to shake her head. "Nope, I don't want to hear a word about it."

"I guess it makes sense, you are the hero in our relationship, so I guess you should be the one to propose."

"That makes no sense, and it's not my fault I am impatient. I guess you just take too long to get things done."

Looking into Waverly's eyes, Nicole couldn't imagine being any happier than she was right then, bickering with her future wife about things that didn't matter at all, with her future sister-in-law nearby causing a ruckus that was probably going to get them kicked out soon.

"You know, I think things happen right when they are supposed to. I love you, Waverly Earp."

 **Fin.**

* * *

A/N:

Sorry for the delay, this last weekend was just a haze of Tegan and Sara and Carmilla amazingness, and I was too focused on that to work on this.

Thanks for sticking with me through this journey. I hope you liked it, and I hope the ending was satisfying! I really had no idea where this was going when I started, but I'm pretty pleased with the end result. I don't have plans to do any more WayHaught in the future, but who knows. This was a blast!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!


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